London Borough of Lewisham Superannuation Fund issued an RFP for managers to run a passive multiasset portfolio estimated to be at least £100 million ($163 million) but could become as much as £600 million over time, according to a fund official who declined to be named.
The official also declined to provide further information about how the mandate will be funded.
UBS Global Asset Management currently manages a passive U.K. equity portfolio valued at £125 million, according to the fund's annual report for the year ended March 31. UBS also manages a £124 million active bonds strategy. AllianceBernstein and RCM manage active global equities portfolio valued at £177 million and £169 million, respectively, according to the annual report.
According to a separate pensions committee documents published in February, the £760 million fund had decided that the “principal holdings in equities and bonds could be passively managed” in an effort to achieve average returns without “volatility and uncertainty associated with active management.”
“All the managers with the exception of the UBS tracker fund have failed to achieve their benchmarks,” according to the documents. “The underperformance … is largely attributable to stock selection by individual managers rather than the asset allocation of the overall fund.”
Proposals are due Oct. 7. Further information can be obtained from consultant Hymans Robertson via e-mail. A decision is expected in the first quarter of 2012.
