French public sector pension fund commits to $1.8bn sustainable equity mandate

Caisse des Dépôts, which manages the assets of the €15.48bn public sector pension fund Ircantec, has signed a $1.8bn sustainable equity mandate.

The mandate, which launched in December 2024, has tasked Japanese firm Nomura Asset Management with managing a tailored sustainable equity fund focused on investing in companies that the team believes have a high positive total stakeholder impact. The mandate includes options for both an environmentally enhanced and a Sharia-compliant version.

It is a customised version of Nomura’s existing Global Sustainable Equity Fund, which has been running for more than six years.

Highlighting the competitive nature of the tender process, Nomura’s lead portfolio manager, Alex Rowe, emphasised that customisation of the mandate was key to winning the deal: “We tailored the strategy of our core Global Sustainable Equity Fund for the client, and this reflects a trend within the sustainable investment industry towards working with clients on a more bespoke, partnership basis to support individual goals and viewpoints.”

Ircantec has committed to aligning its portfolio with the targets set out in the Paris Agreement, including a pledge to reduce its emissions by 7% per annum, encompassing Scope 3 emissions.

The public sector pension fund, which is based in Angers, in western France, has also committed just under 20% of its portfolio to investments in the energy transition.