EUROPE – The $34.5bn (€26.6bn) Danish pension fund PKA has selected Aberdeen Asset Management to manage a $200m emerging market corporate bond mandate.

Brett Diment, head of emerging market bond and sovereign debt at Aberdeen, said emerging market corporate bonds had come into their own as a standalone asset class.

"Furthermore, the fundamental case for developing economies remains compelling," he added.

"They are healthier and less leveraged than developed countries, as are the companies in them."

In other news, an independent trust for pension funds in Switzerland, the CHF5.7bn (€4.7bn) IST Investment Foundation for Pension Funds (IST), has selected Hermes Fund Managers to run a $120m sub-advisory mandate. 

The mandate will be run by Hermes' US small and mid-cap team and brings total assets under management in the Hermes US SMID strategy to nearly $900m.

Hanspeter Vogel, head of products at IST, said: "IST was attracted to the strategy's long track record of outperformance with below-average risk for the asset class."

Finally, in the UK, the Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund has appointed Kames Capital to manage a £70m (€87m) global equity income mandate.

The actively managed portfolio targets an initial dividend yield of at least 130% of the MSCI World Index and income growth in excess of the UK consumer price index.

The portfolio will be managed by Kames head of overseas equities Piers Hillier and fund manager Mark Peden.

They will also be supported by Marcus Chandler, who joined Kames Capital in September.

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