Hermes Fund Managers (Hermes) has announced it has been awarded a $120m mandate by a Swiss trust for pension funds.

The mandate is for a sub-advisory role to the IST Investment Foundation for Pension Funds (IST); a non-profit organisation and the largest independent trust for pension funds in Switzerland.

IST manages CHF5.7bn on behalf of 560 clients and has a long-term strategy, targeted to the investment needs of the occupational pension schemes it serves.

This new mandate brings total assets under management in the Hermes US SMID strategy to nearly $900m.

Hanspeter Vogel, IST's head of products, said: "The Hermes US SMID Strategy was selected from a highly competitive field as best in class. IST was attracted to the strategy's long track record of outperformance with below average risk for the asset class".

Robert Anstey, lead portfolio manager of the Hermes US Small and Mid-Cap strategy, said: "We are delighted to work with an institution of IST's standing and feel that their clients' long-term investment horizon is a perfect match with the way we invest in US small and mid-caps".

First published 10.12.2012

azeevalkink@wilmington.co.uk