Aviva Investors has announced that it has received a mandate from the Dutch medical specialists pension fund SPMS to manage its EUR 350 mln global unlisted real estate portfolio.

SPMS is an obligatory sector scheme responsible for the retirement provision of independent (freelance) medical specialists in the Netherlands. With around 13,000 scheme members and more than EUR 5 bn of assets under management in defined benefit schemes, it is one of the 25 largest pension funds in the Netherlands (7,000 active scheme members, 1,300 deferred members and 5,000 pensioners).

Aviva Investors global real estate multi manager team will be working closely with SPMS to take on the investment management of its existing global real estate portfolio, which currently comprises 34 unlisted holdings across the Netherlands and the rest of Europe, as well as the US and Asia Pacific. It will also assist in deriving a suitable real estate strategy for SPMS’ portfolio going forward as the fund completes its wider asset-liability matching and strategic review through 2011.

Headed by Nick Mansley, Global Director of Multi Manager at Aviva Investors, the global real estate multi manager team compromises 21 investment professionals located in London, New York & Singapore. It is responsible for managing more than EUR 5 bn of indirect assets for a range of institutional clients through both segregated accounts as well as pooled fund-of-fund products.

Commenting on the appointment, Erich Gerth, Executive Director and CEO of Global Business Development at Aviva Investors said: 'I am delighted that SPMS has chosen Aviva Investors to manage its unlisted real estate portfolio. We already work with some of the Netherland’s largest pension funds and our real estate multi manager team operates and invests on a global basis. We believe that we are therefore well positioned to manage SPMS’ existing investments around the world and are proud to be working with such a longstanding and reputable pension fund in the Dutch market.'