France

FRANCE - The French pensions reserve fund (FRR) has retained Goldman Sachs for a three year transition broker mandate with a transaction volume of €25bn.

FRANCE - The €29.1bn French Pensions Reserve Fund, Fonds De Reserve Pour Les Retraites (FRR), bounced back from a weak second quarter to increase its Assets under Management (AuM) by €1.5bn in Q3.

FRANCE - As part of a bid to increase its presence in France, PIMCO has appointed Marco Grzesik as head of business development for the country.

FRANCE - Aberdeen Property Investors and L'Etoile Properties developed property asset management services for the French property market, it was announced today.

FRANCE - Credit Agricole's asset management division today reported an increase of e9 bn in assets under management for the second quarter of 2006, taking it to a total of e520bn.

FRANCE - Activist fund manager Knight Vinke is targeting pension funds as part of a lobbying programme to increase the offer price for French energy giant Suez if it is merged with Gaz de France.

FRANCE - Asset Management and services at French bank BNP Paribas amounted to 25.3% of the e7.245bn second quarter earnings, as reported by the bank today.

FRANCE - The total assets of the French Pensions Reserve Fund, Fonds De Reserve Pour Les Retraites (FRR) registered a return of -2.3% in the second quarter of 2006.

FRANCE - The French Pensions Reserve Fund, Fonds De Reserve Pour Les Retraites (FRR), has said it aims to position itself as a world leader in the area of SRI.

FRANCE - A decision by the e27.7bn French buffer fund FRR to exclude hedge funds from its maiden alternatives investments has been criticised as "symptomatic of the freely circulating conventional wisdom" about the asset class.