Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, Leeds, England, hired four firms to manage a total £700 million ($916 million) in emerging markets ex-China equity and dedicated China equity allocations.
The pool, which invests assets on behalf of local authority pension funds in the U.K. with a total £60 billion in assets, said in a news release that the managers will run the portfolio in its new Emerging Markets Equity Alpha Fund, which has been launched to complement its existing internally managed emerging markets strategy.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Baillie Gifford will run an emerging markets ex-China allocation, accounting for about two-thirds of the fund. UBS Asset Management and FountainCap Research & Investment will each manage dedicated China equity investments, making up about one-third of the portfolio.
Member local authority pension funds investing through the new portfolio are Durham County Council Pension Fund, Durham; Surrey Pension Fund, Kingston upon Thames; and Tyne and Wear Pension Fund, South Shields.
The new fund aims to outperform the MSCI Emerging Markets index over rolling three-year periods.
"This new fund demonstrates our responsiveness to the needs and ambitions of our partner funds," said Graham Long, head of external management, in the news release. "The extensive experience of our selected managers in emerging markets and responsible investment, along with the way we have structured the fund, strengthens our partner funds' access to investment opportunities that deliver sustainable, long-term risk-adjusted returns."
A spokeswoman for Border to Coast could not be reached for comment.
