FRR looking for European, French small-cap equity managers

Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites, Paris, is searching for managers to run allocations in European and French small-cap equities totaling €1.7 billion ($2.1 billion).

A notice filed on the €36.4 billion pension fund's procurement website said the search is split into two contracts. Managers must integrate environmental, social and governance factors into their management processes for both searches.

The first is for managers to run a €1.1 billion European small-cap equity allocation, a spokeswoman said.

The pension fund wants an active management approach, with exposure to stocks in the FTSE Developed Europe Small Cap index or the MSCI Europe Small Cap index. The fund expects to hire up to five managers for the contract.

According to its 2016 annual report, the pension fund's allocation to European small caps was run by Fidelity Gestion, Montanaro Asset Management, Threadneedle Asset Management (now Columbia Threadneedle Investments) and Standard Life Investments (now Standard Life Aberdeen).

The second search is for managers to run a €600 million allocation to French small-cap equities, the spokeswoman said. An active management approach will select stocks from the FTSE Small Cap France index or the MSCI Small Cap France index, and the investment universe will consist of listed firms in the chosen index, as well as listed companies whose headquarters is in France.

The pension fund's annual report showed an allocation to five money managers for French small- and midcap equities: CM-CIC Asset Management, CPR Asset Management, Generali Investments Europe, Oddo BHF Asset Management and Sycomore Asset Management.

The notice is available on the tender website. Proposals are due May 25. The spokeswoman said the process will be finalized mid-next year.