FX Concepts had its four-year contract for a £7 million active currency mandate cancelled, following “disappointing returns”, Andrew Ewart, the council’s treasury officer, told EuromoneyFXNews. “We were looking for a return in line with equities and this was not delivered in 2011,” says Ewart.
While an exact figure was not given, the returns on the currency portfolio fell short of the required benchmark and, as such, the council has said there are no plans to hire another currency manager.
“We aren’t confident in the [currency manager’s] ability to meet the required performance going forward,” says Ewart.
The council, which has a pension fund of about £510 million, will reallocate the £7 million that made up the currency portfolio into existing equity and property funds.