AP 1 currently uses three external Japanese equity managers: Nomura, which manages €314m, Martin Currie, which runs €304m and Marathon, which manages €258m.

Nadine Viel Lamare at AP 1 denies that the tender process is due to any dissatisfaction with the current managers. “We have had these managers for four years and it is time to see what else is out there. The current managers all have the opportunity to reapply,” said Ms Viel Lamare.

However, the return from the fund’s Japanese equity holdings was a disappointing -2.1 per cent in 2006, compared to 24.9 per cent from its internally managed Swedish equity exposure.

The fund will consider appointing a manager for both active and passive accounts, but has a preference for separate briefs. “There will most likely be a number of mandates. It will, however, depend on the outcome of the tendering process,” said Ms Viel Lamare.

The accounts will be benchmarked against the MSCI Japan Total Return index or Topix. The fund said: “Only 100 per cent net long strategies will be considered. However, shorting to some extent, such as ‘130/30’ and similar strategies, may be accepted.”

The deadline for responses is 30 March 2007 and the fund hopes the new mandates will be in place by 1 July 2007.

According to AP 1’s annual report, it returned 9.8 per cent before costs in 2006, compared to 17.5 per cent in 2005.

Its total assets increased by around €2.1bn to €22.4bn. The fund achieved its best results from Swedish equities (24.9 per cent), while its returns from its North American, European and the Pacific region equities was 13.7 per cent. Bonds pulled in returns of 1.3 per cent and alternative investments notched up a significant 38.4 per cent.

CL

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend