The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has added ten new names to its panel of active bond managers in order to help it embark on the next phase of managing a wider fixed income investment portfolio.
Executive director of financial risk at the PPF, Martin Clarke, said: "This announcement marks the next phase in the development of our strategy for managing our extensive fixed income investments. The PPF has a 70% strategic allocation to cash and bonds and, as we grow, we are looking to develop an investment strategy that will enable us to source a broader range of fixed income investment opportunities, while staying true to our low-risk appetite.
"We have already given greater asset allocation to cash to shorten the overall duration of the bond portfolio and will soon embark on a major transition that will bring into play some of the specialist strategies that are now represented in our enlarged panel."
The PPF now holds £12bn worth of assets in its portfolio and this enlarged panel will give the organisation the flexibility to access a broader range of bond strategies.
In addition to the five existing managers which were re-appointed; Mondrian Investment Partners Ltd, Goldman Sachs Asset Management International, PIMCO Europe Ltd, Rogge Global Partners PLC and Wellington Management International Ltd, the PPF has also newly hired the following:
- Alliance Bernstein Ltd,
- BlueBay Asset Management LLP,
- BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP,
- Colchester Global Investors Ltd,
- Insight Investment Management (Global) Ltd,
- Investec Asset Management Ltd,
- Loomis Sayles, a subsidiary of NGAM UK Ltd
- M&G Investment Management Ltd,
- Morgan Stanley Investment Management Ltd and
- Stone Harbor Investment Partners LP.
In the future, managers will be selected from the panel to invest with both specialist and general mandates in a range of fixed income sectors. Collectively, the PPF says, the panel has expertise in absolute return strategies, asset-backed securities and emerging market debt, global sovereigns and corporate credit. The PPF says it will only place funds with panel managers whose strategies and skills are most appropriate to meet its objectives at any given time.
Contracts for managers appointed to the panel will initially be for four years with the option of extending the contract for two further periods of up to two years.
First published 15.08.2012
azeevalkink@wilmington.co.uk
