On the go: The Border to Coast Pensions Partnership is looking to appoint a specialist China equity manager, in a mandate worth between £200m and £300m.
The Local Government Pension Scheme pool stated this manager will supplement its existing Emerging Market Equity Fund, which is currently wholly managed internally.
Following consultation with its partner funds, Border to Coast has decided to create two separate investments within its Emerging Market Equity Fund – one for China (to be benchmarked to FTSE Total China Index), while the internally managed facility will use FTSE Emerging Markets (ex China) as its benchmark.
The Emerging Market Equity Fund was launched in October 2018 with £600m. Following a period of restructuring post launch, the fund has outperformed its benchmark by 0.5 per cent in the 15 months to March 31 2020, the pool stated.
According to Daniel Booth, chief investment officer at Border to Coast, China is experiencing an increasing weight in the emerging markets benchmark, reflecting trends in the wider market.
“We felt it was appropriate to seek a specialist partner who will provide us with a local market presence.”
The formal tender process for up to two managers will be launched on May 4, and the managers are likely to be appointed in the third quarter of 2020. Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, Border to Coast has produced an online presentation for managers interested in bidding for this mandate.
With assets worth £49bn, Border to Coast is the asset manager for Cumbria, Durham, East Riding, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Surrey, South Yorkshire, Teesside, Tyne and Wear and Warwickshire.
