Brunel hires two managers for low vol global equities

Brunel Pension Partnership has appointed two asset managers, Robeco and Quoniam, for a low volatility global equities portfolio with an initial value of £400 million.

Brunel CIO, Mark Mansley, said that the asset pool set up low volatility global equity as its second sub-fund within its authorised contractual scheme (ACS), operated by FundRock, and it has the objective of outperforming global equity markets over the long-term but with less short-term volatility.

Mansley commented: “For this search, two particular areas we were interested in were understanding how managers address risk of valuation bubbles in low volatility strategies, and their use of ESG considerations to help further reduce risk.” Mansley added: “We were impressed by the clarity of these managers’ investment processes, and, as always, sought out those whose values chimed with our own with regards to successful long-term investment, while bringing their own unique perspectives on successful investment.” Brunel said that the value of the mandate could rise to £600 million in future.

Robeco head of UK, Peter Walsh, commented: “We are incredibly pleased to be working with Brunel, especially given our shared leadership in sustainability. Winning this mandate builds on our solid traction in the local government pension fund sector; it also strengthens Robeco’s sustainability investing profile in the UK as the portfolio has a specific focus on carbon reduction. We look forward to a very long and productive partnership.”

Quoniam head of international client relations, Barbara Wokurka, commented: “Brunel’s focus on long-term, sustainable investments aligns with our goal as an active quantitative asset manager, to deliver consistent, robust added value to our investors. We are proud to be one of the first active managers appointed by Brunel and look forward to a partnership that offers diverse investment solutions to its underlying clients.”