Industriens Pension, Copenhagen, Denmark, shifted 8.9 billion Danish kroner ($1.3 billion) between Pacific Investment Management Co.'s corporate bond strategies, a spokesman confirmed.
PIMCO, which manages Industriens Pension's largest external investment mandate, will run the money in a new sustainable bond strategy for the 183 billion kroner pension fund. The strategy invests in bonds of corporations that have a relatively low environmental impact, focus on social responsibility and have a healthy governance culture, the pension fund said on its website. The allocation to corporate bonds that has been managed by PIMCO did not increase.
"When we change our largest external investment mandate, it is because we truly believe in the value of sustainable investment on several levels. Sustainability and solid, long-term returns are often very well linked if the investments are handled by a skilled manager," said Anders Ellegaard, bond manager at Industriens Pension, in a news release.
PIMCO will manage some green bonds under the strategy — an allocation expected to amount to just more than 1 billion kroner.
Industriens Pension had invested more than 10 billion kroner in green energy and companies with renewable energy as of Dec. 31. The pension fund's allocation to nominal bonds, emerging market bonds, high-yield bonds and investment-grade bonds is about 40% of assets.
