EUROPE - The London Borough of Lewisham pension fund is tendering for the management of a passive equity and bond mandate.

The contract is valued at between £100m (€114m) and £600m.

Both market capitalisation and non-market capitalisation passive approaches will be considered.

For any market capitalisation-based index mandates, the tender asks applicants to have total passive mandate assets under management for UK pension funds in excess of £3bn.

However, these requirements will not apply for market capitalisation-based index mandates.

Lewisham said it would award the contract according to the most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria.

Interested parties should send requests to participate to Hymans Robertson in Glasgow. The deadline is 7 October.

In other news, the municipal investment fund of Bærum Kommune - a suburb of Oslo - has appointed Northern Trust to provide global custody, securities lending, transition management and foreign exchange services.

The contract is valued at NOK606m (€77m).

The investment fund cited Northern Trust's 20 years' experience in the region and the expertise of its local team as one of the reasons it was appointed.

Astrid Auran Nesbø, director of finance at Bærum Kommune, said: "As a municipal investment fund, our selection must stand up to public scrutiny.

"Northern Trust's robust securities lending programme and processes were among a number of key factors in our decision-making, together with its long track record in and commitment to the Nordic region."