Belgacom Pension Fund wins "Best Small European Pension Fund" Award

The jury, composed of international consultants from the Pension Fund industry, recognized the quality of the management. The very good diversification of the portfolio allows the fund to limit the high volatility of some asset classes and constitutes an additional protection in ‘hard times’ such as now. This results in optimal return/risk ratio, which is not easy to reach for small pension funds. Moreover, the fund has an outstanding track record of cost management which is extremely important in the current context of low returns. The funds is also invested in commodities, infrastructure and emerging markets, which is not evident to do in a cost efficient way. The Fund also ensured that this increase in the number of investments did not come at the expense of management costs. The Fund entrusts the management of its investments to specialized external managers, whose performance is strictly controlled.

Thanks to this diversification and specialization during the past 10 years the Pension Fund managed to significantly increase the return on its portfolio, while decreasing the overall risk.

It is not the first time that Belgacom wins an award. In 2008, Philip Neyt, Managing Director of the fund won the gold award for “outstanding industry contribution” for his driving force for the creation of attractive environment for the establishment of Pan European Pension Funds. Since then, the example of Belgium was copied in different member states.