REAL ESTATE - The 鈧�1bn Amonis pension scheme for dentists, doctors and pharmacists has reduced its exposure real estate 鈥� and equities - and ploughed roughly 鈧�34.2m into a fund of hedge funds portfolio managed by Key Asset Management.
This is the first time the scheme has invested in hedge funds 鈥� regarded as a diversification tool by Amonis chief financial officer Tom Mergaerts.
The mandate was awarded to Key 鈥� a European hedge fund outfit with just over 鈧�1bn in assets under management - in May following a competitive tendering and selection process.
The process, which ran from spring 2004 until spring 2006, involved a long list of more than 60 hedge fund managers and 20 tenders.
Key鈥檚 London-based chief executive Peter Dencik said: 鈥淢y understanding is that this is one of the very first investments in hedge funds by a Belgian pension fund.鈥�
He added that this trend is likely to continue. 鈥淲hat you see now is pension funds in continental Europe in general 鈥� moving now into strategic asset allocation to include hedge funds in that asset allocation approach.
鈥淚t鈥檚 diversification and a higher degree of confidence or understanding, if you like, with what hedge funds do for you in the portfolio.鈥�
Amonis鈥檚 Margaerts said it is 鈥渋mpossible to say at this time鈥� whether the scheme would increase its investment in hedge funds in the near future.
The Amonis scheme has 42% of its portfolio invested in equities, 42% is allocated to bonds, 9% is invested in real estate and 7% in alternatives. The fund has 14,000 members.
Brussels-based Pragma Consulting under managing director Koen De Ryck was consultant in the tendering and selection process.
