The Bureau of Labor Funds, which oversees seven public funds in Taiwan with combined assets of NT$2.9 trillion (US$92 billion), is looking for firms to manage US$1.8 billion in global listed infrastructure securities and US$600 million in global real estate securities.
The Labor Pension Fund (new scheme), the BLF's largest with NT$1.319 trillion at the end of January, is looking for four firms to manage US$350 million each in global infrastructure securities, while the NT$627.1 billion Labor Insurance Fund is looking for four firms to manage US$100 million each, said an RFP on the BLF website.
In addition, the Labor Insurance Fund is looking for two firms to manage US$200 million each in global real estate securities, while the NT$192.5 billion National Pension Insurance Fund is looking for two firms to manage US$100 million each.
The RFP said only managers established on or before Jan. 1, 2012, with global assets under management of at least US$5 billion at the end of 2014 are eligible to apply. Interested managers can submit only one product or strategy for each asset class.
Managers can download application documents from the BLF's website.
A physical copy of the application must be submitted by 5 p.m. China Standard Time on March 31, to the Secretarial Office of the Bureau of Labor Funds, 10F, No. 6, Sec. 1, Roosevelt Rd., ZhongZheng Dist., Taipei, Taiwan. The BLF will announce the selected managers in June.
Filling those mandates will lift allocations toward year-end targets for alternatives investments outlined by BLF executives last year, including 8% of the Labor Pension Fund (new scheme), from 4.4% at the end of 2013, and 5% of the Labor Insurance Fund, up from 0.79%.
In an interview in October, Chao-Hsi Huang, director-general of the BLF, said a focus on transparency and liquidity has left his investment team concentrating its alternatives allocations on listed real estate and listed infrastructure for now.
