19 March 2019

Taiwan’s BLF names five managers for US$1.5 billion multi-factor mandate

Published by Asia Asset Management – 19th Mar 2019

Taiwan’s Bureau of Labor Funds (BLF), which supervises the island’s labour pensions, has appointed five foreign fund managers for its first multi-factor mandate, worth US$1.5 billion.

Amundi Asset Management, DWS Investments Hong Kong, Nomura Asset Management Co., Robeco Institutional Asset Management, and State Street Global Advisors Asia will oversee the emerging-market multi-factor equity mandate for a five-year period, with each awarded a quota of $300 million, the BLF says in a statement on March 15.

The mandate, which was put up for public tender last November, is for the Labor Pension Fund, Taiwan’s largest defined-contribution pension plan.

It’s benchmarked against the iEdge Rayliant EM Dynamic Multi-Factor Index, which is calculated by the Singapore Exchange and comprises all emerging markets except Taiwan.

Liu Li-ju, the BLF’s deputy director general, said in a statement last December that the mandate will strengthen its pension funds “offshore satellite asset allocation”, referring to the additional position in the BLF’s portfolio that aims to generate alpha for core investments.

The BLF had NT$4.43 trillion ($143.7 billion) of assets under management as of January 31, 2019.