Fopen, the Italian pension fund serving employees of energy group Enel, has awarded a €120m private equity mandate to Schroders as part of its strategy to strengthen diversification and resilience in the face of ongoing market volatility.

The capital will be deployed through Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) with a strong focus on European mid-cap companies, and with the aim of increasing the fund’s exposure to Italian private equity beyond the weighting of global public equity benchmarks.

The move is part of a broader private markets allocation strategy aimed at reducing reliance on public market cycles. It comes as Fopen also committed an additional €105m to private debt through Progetto Zefiro, a consortium of defined contribution pension schemes led by StepStone and focused on European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs). Learn more about fundraising efforts in Italy by joining Italy’s Largest Private Equity Conference in Milan.

All private market investments fall under Fopen’s €1.5bn ‘Bilanciato Obbligazionario’ sub-fund, which accounts for half of the fund’s total assets. Current allocations include 5% to private equity, with existing commitments to Ardian and Fondo Italiano di Investimento, 5% to private debt, and 1% to infrastructure.

Fopen said the new mandates are designed to provide long-term downside protection and capture value in dislocated markets, while positioning the portfolio to benefit from a potential equity market recovery.

Source: IPE