EUROPE – A Swiss occupational pension fund is looking to appoint a manager to a $1.5bn (€1.1bn) emerging markets (EM) equity mandate, using IPE-Quest.

According to search QN1268, any interested manager should be able to deposit the assets in a segregated account, or Einanlegerfond in Swiss legal terms.

The manager should not apply any hedging to the portfolio, nor leverage the assets invested on behalf of the fund.

The fund said it would commit as much as $1.5bn to the index-based strategy, but at least $500m.

The passive investment should be benchmarked against the MSCI Emerging Markets index, and managers should have at least $2bn in assets under management in similar strategies, with $15bn across the entire company.

Interested parties should be able to demonstrate at least three years' experience, with a five-year track record preferred.

The fund asks that all applications be submitted by 11 January, stating performance gross of fees to the end of September.

In other news, the Swiss pension fund involved in an earlier search to appoint a manager to a $175m hedge fund mandate has updated its requirements.

The amended search QN1267 now states that the fund will consider appointing more than one hedge fund manager and allow for a bespoke mandate to be created, as it prefers a separate or customised account be used.

Further, the manager should be able to liquidate 75% or more of the hedge fund's holdings within 185 days.

The scheme has also said that it will consider a flight time of nine hours from Switzerland for the location of the manager, allowing it to take account of companies from the US East Coast.

The deadline for the search remains 4 January.

Finally, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the county of Cheshire has tendered a framework agreement covering the administration of two pension schemes across large parts of England and Wales.

According to the tender, the framework agreement would be open to police in more than a dozen regions, including North Wales and Gwent, as well as Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cumbria and Hertfordshire.

According to the tender, the Police Pensions Administration Service would be required to "cover the administration of both the old Police Pension Scheme and the New Police Pension Scheme", as well as address payroll issues.

It added: "Suppliers will need to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the statutory and regulatory provisions that cover the operation of both schemes."

The framework will run for four years, although Cheshire and Merseyside will have the option to run a three-year contract, allowing for two further 12-month renewals.

Interested parties can apply until 15 February using the emergency services online tender portal and can obtain additional information from the strategic procurement unit within Cheshire constabulary.

Both the Police Pension Scheme, closed since 2006, and the New Police Pension Scheme are unfunded public sector pensions.

As a result, they are subject to the reforms currently being considered by the UK government, borne out of Lord Hutton's Independent Public Service Pensions Commission.

The IPE.com news team is unable to answer any further questions about IPE-Quest tender notices to protect the interests of clients conducting the search. To obtain information directly from IPE-Quest, please contact Liz Clarke on +353 43 33 29560 or email liz.clarke@ipe-quest.com.

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