The French public sector pension scheme Erafp has selected Ampere Gestion to create a residential property investment portfolio.
The pension fund, which has €30 billion of assets under management, has also selected two standby managers, La Francaise and Swiss Life Reim.
Erafp is initially investing about €200 million in housing located in areas where there is large public sector employment and where rents are high in relation to incomes.
Vincent Mahé, chief administrative officer of CDC Habitat and chairman of Ampere Gestion, said the mandate would help to increase the supply of affordable housing in “tight” areas.
“It reflects our strong belief that the optimal strategy of a long-term savings manager and, in particular, of a pension organisation – whether public or private – must include a real estate segment in which residential property has its place.”
Erafp describes itself as a fully socially responsible investor, and said it had taken a long-term view by investing in this asset class.
“Given the limits in the short term and the obsession with market movements, at a time when the role of pension and savings schemes in the economy is being questioned, Erafp is showing that it is possible to mobilise resources in order to build patient capitalism that serves society,” the scheme said in a statement.
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