IPE-QUEST - Pensions institutions are still searching for the ability to invest substantial sums in equities and bonds, as IPE-Quest currently has four tenders outstanding for investment managers.

Details of QN1092 state a German pension fund is looking to invest €250m in eurozone government debt, benchmarked to the iBoxx euroe sovereign index (QW6A).

He core enhanced tender demands the minimum and maximum tracking errors are 0.5% and 1.5% respectively, and performance be presented net of fees to 31 December 2009, with a minimum of three years' track record preferred of the manager.

Minimum assets held by the firm should be $1bn (€740m) and closing date for submissions is 12 April 2010.

A Danish pension fund is also looking to invest €100m in small-cap European equities with a market cap of less than €5bn, according to QN1087.
 
The fund is looking for a UN PRI-compliant or similar manager, and seeks a "research-driven asset manager with a fundamental, non-quantitative, bottom-up active investment philosophy", and would prefer a local boutique-driven asset house.

The investment will be benchmarked to the MSCI European Small Cap index with a 5% minimum tracking error and the firm must have at least €400m held within this mandate.

Performance must be stated gross of fees to 31 December 2009 and the firm must have a minimum three-year track record, although five years would be preferred..

Closing date is 23 April 2010.

Elsewhere, Nordic investment consultants Nykredit Asset Management and Kirstein Finans are looking for global managers on behalf of their clients.

Kirstein is conducting a search for " a range of smaller Danish institutions" seeking to invest $30m in active long-only global equities.

QN1091 states the investment must outperform the MSCI World index by 2-3% without leverage and interested parties will preferably have five years' track record.

Closing date for submission to IPE-Quest is 14 April 2010 but any questions about the mandate should be directed to Nikolaj Eriksen at nikolaj@kirsteinfinans.dk.

Nykredit, meanwhile, is looking to hire a manager to look after an initial $25m held in high-yield debt, although this mandate is expected to double within 12 months.

QN1090 specifies the benchmark will be the JP Morgan Global High Yield index and investments must be UCITS-compliant, with performance stated gross of fees and a preferred track record of five years.

The closing date on Nykredit's search is 9 April 2010.