The Dyfed Pension Fund has appointed Threadneedle Investments to manage a £150m global equity mandate.

The mandate reflects the fund's move away from regionally focused equity portfolio towards a more global approach.

The new global mandate will be funded by reallocating the fund's existing investment in UK and European equity into Threadneedle's global equity income strategy.

Carmarthenshire County Council is the administering authority for the Dyfed Pension Fund, which is valued at approximately £1.6bn and has 39,645 members.

Anthony Parnell, Carmarthenshire County Council treasury and pension investments manager, said: "Our fund works with only a small number of investment managers, and this mandate is part of our strategy to take a more global approach to equity investing in order to deliver the best returns for our members.

"We liked Threadneedle's Global Equity Income approach and its emphasis on quality companies, and the characteristic of protection in falling markets which this strategy aims to provide."

The fund was advised by independent investment adviser Eric Lambert and Allenbridge Epic assisted with the search.

Threadneedle's total investments that it manages for UK local authorities now stand at just over £1bn.

First published 12.12.2013

monique_simpson@wilmington.co.uk