FINANCE: The London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) is to enter into the alternative credit market after appointing Apollo Global Management to invest £150m in alternative investment.
The mandate will be unconstrained and target higher-yielding debt markets including distressed debt, real estate debt, leveraged senior loans and private lending.
It is expected that most investments will be made within developed markets; however, there is also scope for allocations to emerging markets.
Apollo was shortlisted alongside Ares Management, Babson Capital and GSO Capital for the appointment. The tendering process saw 35 managers reduced to a shortlist of four.
The tender process undertaken by LPFA has also created a national framework that will allow other local government pension schemes to select any of the successful shortlisted managers for similar work in the future, without having to complete a full European tender process.
