PRINT THIS PAGE

Irish Pension fund to invest 20 per cent of assets in private equity and real estate

The E10.6bn Irish National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) is to invest approximately 20 per cent of its assets under management in private equity and real estate. This will give the pension fund an allocation of around E2bn for the asset classes.

The NPRF is planning to hire two new fund managers by the end of the year to assist with the shift in strategy, in addition to the recruitment of Ian Gleeson who joins the firm from F&C next month.

'We have decided to allocate approximately E1bn to both private equity and property over the next five years and will look to build up a small team of in-house private equity managers by year-end,' Ronan O'Connor, NPRF's head of risk and asset allocation told European Pensions & Investment News.

Despite NPRF's move into private equity and real estate, the organisation has decided not to include hedge funds in its portfolio at the present time.

'Our decision to invest in the hedge fund market has been deferred,' O'Connor explained. 'A move has not been ruled out, but right now our focus is real estate and private equity.'

Copyright © 2004 AltAssets