BVK, the CHF40.2bn (€43.2bn) Swiss pension fund for the employees of the canton of Zurich, has issued two tender notices via IPE Quest looking to appoint asset managers for global infrastructure.
The first (search QN-2928) is for €350m investing in global infrastructure via a multi-manager arrangement, while the second (search QN-2929) is also for €350m investing in the same asset class but via an unlisted co-investment.
With 139,000 insured persons, BVK is one of Switzerland’s biggest pension funds, with around 60% of its customers working for affiliated employers in the healthcare, education, and administration sectors. The remaining 40% are employees of the Canton of Zurich.
BVK currently holds around CHF400–500m worth of European infrastructure assets, mostly in electricity production and electricity transmission. “We would like to expand our Infrastructure assets by another CHF700m in the coming years and broaden our sector and regional approach,” the scheme said in tender notice.
For this purpose, BVK launched a fact-finding request for proposals (RFP) in August 2024 on IPE Quest, which “was very well received from the investment management industry”, it added.
Based on the findings of this first RFP, BVK decided to set up a multi-manager and a co-investment solution.
BVK has set up only one segment-based investment restriction – no more than 20% to the energy sector, given the fund’s current allocation to energy – and one region-based investment restriction – no more than 20% to Europe, given BVK’s current allocation to Europe.
The deadline for both has been set for 27 January 2025 at 5pm UK time.
The IPE news team is unable to answer any further questions about IPE Quest, Discovery, or Innovation tender notices to protect the interests of clients conducting the search. To obtain further information contact IPE Quest directly.
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