LD Pensions has selected MP Investment Management A/S (MPIM), which is owned by MP Pension, as its new manager for Danish equities. Initially, this involves investments of approximately DKK 1.3 billion from the LD Danske Aktier portfolio, which members with cost-of-living allowance funds can choose, as well as LD Pensions’ strategic allocation to Danish equities of approximately DKK 400 million.
A shared focus on active ownership
The contract was awarded to MPIM following a public EU tender in which seven Danish asset managers competed to win the contract. The bidders were closely matched in terms of both price and quality, and the tenders were all of a very high standard. Among other factors, MPIM’s work on active ownership and the integration of sustainability criteria into its investment activities proved decisive.
“MPIM has been working on integrating sustainability into equity selection and active ownership for many years and is well ahead of many of the other potential asset managers,” says Charlotte Mark, Chief Financial Officer in LD Pensions.
In LD Pensions, a partnership has been launched with the non-profit organisation Future-Fit, which has developed a tool to help companies work towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The partnership with Future-Fit reflects LD Pensions’ desire for all companies to start reducing their own negative impact on the world.
It has been important to us to find an asset manager that places a particular focus on sustainability and active ownership, and that can help us take our active ownership to the next level,
We are therefore looking forward to this new partnership, which will see more resources allocated to dialogue with companies on corporate governance and sustainability.
A new partnership with great prospects
MPIM will take over the management of LD Pensions’ Danish equity portfolio as early as the first quarter of 2020. Over the coming years, the portfolio may be expanded to include investments for the employees' holiday allowance fund, which is the second of LD Pensions' two funds. LD Pensions is currently in the process of preparing its investment strategy for this area.
The handover is taking place from C WorldWide, the current manager. “We are delighted with our collaboration with C WorldWide and appreciate their professionalism in every respect. It was a highly competitive tender process, in which C WorldWide also submitted a very strong bid,” says Charlotte Mark.
LD Pensions currently manages DKK 35 billion, which stems from the contributions made during the period of high inflation in the late 1970s. In 2020, LD Pensions will begin managing holiday allowance funds from the transitional year leading up to a new holiday legislation. This amounts to a total of DKK 100 billion, which will be partly invested in securities and partly held as receivables from employers.
