UK – The London Borough of Ealing pension fund is investing £80m (€95m) in property with the aim of achieving diversification and longer-term inflation protection for fund assets.
The pension fund is splitting the sum between three asset managers.
The investment represents 10% of the scheme's £800m of assets.
Lothbury Property Trust has taken on a £32m mandate, representing 40% of the total, while Standard Life Investments has been awarded a £24m mandate, or 30%.
The other £24m, or 30%, has gone to the Hermes Property Unit Trust (HPUT).
A spokeswoman for Ealing council said the aim of the mandates was “to reduce risk by diversifying the fund’s return-seeking assets.”
The investment is for the long-term, she said, but she gave no specific timeframe.
In total, six managers have been appointed to the Ealing bench in the tender process, and three diverse but complementary strategies were selected to be funded.
The pension scheme is aiming to achieve diversification and longer-term inflation protection with the £80m property investment.
But the new allocation does not mean there will be further changes in the fund’s overall investment.
“No strategy changes are proposed for the near term,” the spokeswoman said.
At the end of March, the Ealing pension fund had 28% of assets in UK bonds, 35% in UK equities and 34% in foreign equities, with 2% in money market instruments and 1% in pooled investments, according to the fund’s annual report.
