The €2.6bn pension fund of Dutch technical research institute TNO has appointed Kempen Capital Management as fiduciary manager for its portfolio of international non-listed property.
In addition, Kempen will act as its strategic adviser, selecting new investments for the €102m portfolio.
Hans de Ruiter, CIO at the TNO scheme, said: “During an extensive selection among local and international players, Kempen’s service provision has come out as best.”
Robert-Jan Tel, director of non-listed real estate at Kempen, noted significant demand from institutional investors for independent expertise in the asset class.
Last June, the €3bn industry-wide pension fund for the grocery sector (Levensmiddelen) appointed Kempen to monitor its non-listed property holdings of approximately €200m.
Levensmiddelen had already appointed Kempen as its fiduciary manager in 2011.
At the time, Jan Kat, chairman of the scheme’s investment committee, said: “Kempen understands the position of Dutch pensions funds very well, and also has property expertise.”
Kempen does not manage a non-listed real estate portfolio and, in its opinion, can therefore provide independent advice.
The Amsterdam-based asset manager recently introduced integral strategic advice for pension funds’ entire property holdings, across sectors and regions, as well as the selection of funds and managers.
Its proposition also included extensive monitoring of all non-listed property investments, with a quarterly “active dialogue” with the managers and a monitoring report for the client.
Kempen said it would also act as a go-between for the fund manager and carry out legal actions as well as investment administration.
According to the asset manager, the new service will give more control to pension funds’ boards and offer a countervailing power against portfolio managers.
Currently, Kempen Capital Management monitors €850m of property investments for eight Dutch pension funds.
