South Korea’s Scientists and Engineers Mutual-aid Association (SEMA) is seeking bids for a domestic absolute return mandate, its second tender in a week and the third thus far this year.
The group will hire four locally registered asset managers with a minimum one-year track record of managing absolute return strategies for the new investment, which will focus on both listed and private firms, initial public offerings, and special purpose acquisition companies.
Two of them will mainly invest in companies valued at more than 500 billion won (US$371 million) and the other two will concentrate on firms below that value, SEMA says in a request for proposal on August 16.
It did not disclose the value of the mandate, saying only that no more than half of the assets will be allocated to private firms.
Asset managers bidding on the tender must have at least 10 billion won of combined assets in their absolute return funds.
Applications are open until August 30 and the winning bidders will be chosen by October 2.
SEMA’s most recent tender was on August 9, when it sought bids for private equity, venture capital and thematic investment mandates totalling 286 billion won.
The group’s first tender of the year was in March, for a Korean bond mandate of undisclosed value. Like most Korean asset owners, it doesn’t announce tender results publicly.
SEMA invests pension contributions of more than 75,000 scientists and engineers and manages around $7.7 billion of assets.