Fondo Previdenziale Pegaso, Rome, hired SSgA to manage about €60 million ($76 million) in active global fixed income for its supplemental defined contribution plan, according to Bill Street, managing director and co-head of the global active fixed-income team at SSgA.
Officials at the fund could not be reached by press time for information about the size of the fund and whether any managers had been terminated.
Mr. Street said in a telephone interview that general interest for active fixed-income strategies is increasing in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. At SSgA, assets in active global fixed income increased by about 25% so far this year, totaling about $24 billion.
“One of the contributing factors to the trend is European sovereign volatility,” Mr. Street added, referring to events earlier this year that highlighted the credit risks of some peripheral European countries such as Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy.