The Pensions Infrastructure Platform (PIP) is set to begin its search for investment managers while also considering plans to establish an in-house team.
PIP Limited, the company which has been established to facilitate the development of the PIP, is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) for investment management services from existing managers, teams or individuals that may be interested in managing some, or all, of the PIP’s target £2bn assets.
The EOI exercise will commence on 13 May and run until 31 May 2013.
The PIP has 10 founding investors including the Pension Protection Fund, BT Pension Scheme and London Pensions Fund Authority, each of whom have made soft commitments of £100m, taking the fund to the £1bn mark.
As part of the manager selection process, these founding investors will consider three different models for the platform. These include:
• A “buy” option, under which PIP could outsource the management of some or all assets to an existing manager or managers.
• A “build” option, which would see PIP develop its own in-house fund manager for all or some of the assets.
• A “hybrid” option, allowing PIP to outsource certain sectors while keeping the management of other sectors in-house.
National Association of Pension Fund chief executive Joanne Segars said on behalf of the PIP: “The start of the investment manager selection process is an important next step in the PIP’s development. Founding Investors will be seeking an investment manager, or managers, with a strong track record, expertise, the ability to innovate and generate appropriate investment opportunities, and an alignment with the interests of pension funds as long-term investors.
“We continue to make excellent progress. Earlier this year we were able to announce that pension funds had made soft commitments of £1bn to the PIP. In addition to the investment manager selection exercise, work is continuing on a number of key areas to prepare the PIP for launch later this year.”
The PIP will be advised in the selection process by PricewaterhouseCoopers and legal advisers Clyde & Co.
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