Essex Pension Fund allocates £80m to illiquid debt
0The Essex Pension Fund is seeking an investment manager for an £80m long-only multi illiquid debt portfolio.
The fund has placed a tender outlining details of the proposed mandate, which will see around 2% of the fund’s total assets under management invested.
Any successful bidder will be required to provide a pooled illiquid debt fund investing in a variety of markets, including direct corporate lending, real estate lending and distressed debt.
The tender, which is being run by pension adviser Hymans Robertson, said: “To be considered managers must have the required credentials and track record, including sourcing, origination capabilities and work-out expertise.
“We reserve the right to exclude funds on certain criteria e.g. high leverage.”
The value of the Essex Pension Fund was reported at £3.96bn in its 2013/14 annual report, with 45,000 contributors and 34,000 pensioners.
In 2012/13, the overall return on the fund was 12.6% compared to a customised benchmark of 9.9%.
The fund’s strategic allocation benchmark as at 31 March 2013 was 60% equities, 13.5% bonds and 26.5 alternatives.
The deadline for responses to the tender is 8 June.
To see details of how to respond, along with the rest of this week’s tenders, visit our tenders round-up page.
