Management of high-yield bonds in a UCITS Fund

Management of high-yield bonds in a UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) fund, respecting responsible investment criteria (ESG, Paris Agreement, engagement etc.), and reporting. The investment strategy shall be active and invest in corporate high-yield bonds, where US or global developed markets strategies are accepted. The Danish National …

CPV: 66140000 Portfolio management services
áit fhorghníomhaithe:
Management of high-yield bonds in a UCITS Fund
clárlann:
Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
uimhir dámhachtana:
High yield

1. Buyer

1.1 Buyer

Official name : Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
Legal type of the buyer : Body governed by public law
Activity of the contracting authority : General public services

2. Procedure

2.1 Procedure

Title : Management of high-yield bonds in a UCITS Fund
Description : Management of high-yield bonds in a UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) fund, respecting responsible investment criteria (ESG, Paris Agreement, engagement etc.), and reporting. The investment strategy shall be active and invest in corporate high-yield bonds, where US or global developed markets strategies are accepted. The Danish National Research Foundation expects to initially invest approximately DKK 460 million (EUR 62m) in the fund. The procurement procedure will be conducted as an open procedure (in Danish: “offentligt udbud”) pursuant to the European Procurement legal framework as implemented in national Danish legislation, see Title II of the Danish Public Procurement Act. The open procedure comprises one phase, i.e., no prequalification takes place. The tender conditions describe the procedure for the procurement and set the guidelines and conditions for the submission of tenders, communication between the tenderer and the contracting authority as well as information about the procurement procedure in general. All tenderers are urged to carefully examine not only these Tender Conditions, but all tender documents as they contain the information necessary, including mandatory conditions, for providing an acceptable tender. All communication shall be carried out via the electronic procurement system. Compensation will not be granted for the preparation or submission of tenders. Procurement documents with appendices are the contracting authority’s property and will not be returned.
Procedure identifier : b44d8fd3-46b8-4c9f-9c47-3556b9fcf7ef
Previous notice : d98aa718-c4d9-4579-9624-506cdca1d3c0-01
Internal identifier : High yield
Type of procedure : Open
The procedure is accelerated : no

2.1.1 Purpose

Main nature of the contract : Services
Main classification ( cpv ): 66140000 Portfolio management services

2.1.2 Place of performance

Anywhere

2.1.4 General information

Additional information : The tendered contract has not been divided into lots, see section 49(2) of the Danish Public Procurement Act, due to the complexity of the management of a high-yield bond mandate. The contracting authority shall in accordance with section 134 a of the Danish Public Procurement Act exclude economic operators established in a country stated on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes and which is not a party to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or any other binding for Denmark free-trade agreement.
Legal basis :
Directive 2014/24/EU
529900XNGNM4I5IJVX98 -

5. Lot

5.1 Lot technical ID : LOT-0000

Title : Management of high-yield bonds in a UCITS Fund
Description : Management of high-yield bonds in a UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) fund, respecting responsible investment criteria (ESG, Paris Agreement, engagement etc.), and reporting. The investment strategy shall be active and invest in corporate high-yield bonds, where US or global developed markets strategies are accepted. The Danish National Research Foundation expects to initially invest approximately DKK 460 million (EUR 62m) in the fund. The procurement procedure will be conducted as an open procedure (in Danish: “offentligt udbud”) pursuant to the European Procurement legal framework as implemented in national Danish legislation, see Title II of the Danish Public Procurement Act. The open procedure comprises one phase, i.e., no prequalification takes place. The tender conditions describe the procedure for the procurement and set the guidelines and conditions for the submission of tenders, communication between the tenderer and the contracting authority as well as information about the procurement procedure in general. All tenderers are urged to carefully examine not only these Tender Conditions, but all tender documents as they contain the information necessary, including mandatory conditions, for providing an acceptable tender. All communication shall be carried out via the electronic procurement system. Compensation will not be granted for the preparation or submission of tenders. Procurement documents with appendices are the contracting authority’s property and will not be returned.
Internal identifier : High yield

5.1.1 Purpose

Main nature of the contract : Services
Main classification ( cpv ): 66140000 Portfolio management services

5.1.2 Place of performance

Anywhere
Additional information :

5.1.3 Estimated duration

Other duration : Unlimited

5.1.6 General information

Procurement Project not financed with EU Funds.
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) : yes
Additional information : The tendered contract has not been divided into lots, see section 49(2) of the Danish Public Procurement Act, due to the complexity of the management of a high-yield bond mandate. The contracting authority shall in accordance with section 134 a of the Danish Public Procurement Act exclude economic operators established in a country stated on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes and which is not a party to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or any other binding for Denmark free-trade agreement.

5.1.10 Award criteria

Criterion :
Type : Quality
Name : Portfolio management organization and assets under management.
Description : • An organization where the management of high yield bonds has a high priority and there is a reasonable capacity limit (assets under management) for the strategy • A stable and skilled investment team that has access to the necessary resources and allocates a large part of their time to high-yield bond strategies • A stable and skilled ESG team that has access to the necessary resources to oversee and engage with the issuers of high yield bond in relation to ESG-matters • An independent compliance team using professional and sound risk measurement methods and systems will be assessed positively.
Category of award threshold criterion : Weight (percentage, exact)
Award criterion number : 20
Criterion :
Type : Quality
Name : Investment philosophy, process, and portfolio construction.
Description : • An investment philosophy that is linked to the investment process, a stable investment process and a logically constructed portfolio • An overall investment strategy that aligns with the investment requirements (refer to section 2.1.1 in Appendix B) and has the potential to generate excess returns within those requirements.
Category of award threshold criterion : Weight (percentage, exact)
Award criterion number : 15
Criterion :
Type : Quality
Name : Performance for the strategy
Description : The Foundation will calculate market-compliant performance and risk ratios based on historical data on the strategy provided (return and duration). Especially, the following elements will be considered positive: • A portfolio manager demonstrating consistently high and stable risk-adjusted excess returns • A long track record exhibiting consecutive periods of excess performance primarily attributable to security selection.
Category of award threshold criterion : Weight (percentage, exact)
Award criterion number : 15
Criterion :
Type : Quality
Name : Responsible investments
Description : • A policy that can comply with the foundation’s responsible investment policy (refer to section 2.1.2 in Appendix B) • Integrating responsible investments considerations rigorously into the investment process and portfolio construction • Comprehensive engagement with companies and urging companies to comply with the strategy’s responsible investment policy on topics where compliance is lacking The implementation of a more restrictive responsible investment policy in the strategy compared to the foundation’s responsible investment policy (for example excluding companies involved in the production of alcohol products) is not considered positive.
Category of award threshold criterion : Weight (percentage, exact)
Award criterion number : 20
Criterion :
Type : Quality
Name : Reporting
Description : Positive assessment is given when the required and optional reports, as indicated in section 2.1.3 in Appendix B, can be delivered satisfactorily and align with the contracting authority's reporting preferences. Performance attribution reports and reports on ESG-matters related to the portfolio will also be considered positive.
Category of award threshold criterion : Weight (percentage, exact)
Award criterion number : 5
Criterion :
Type : Quality
Name : Contract
Description : It is weighed positively if there are none, small or few reservations to the contract. Any reservation will be priced; if it is not possible to price a reservation, it may force the contracting authority to reject the tender as non-compliant.
Category of award threshold criterion : Weight (percentage, exact)
Award criterion number : 5
Criterion :
Type : Price
Name : Price
Description : The evaluation of the price criterion follows the outlined evaluation model in para 7.2 below. The price evaluation involves a weighted price for portfolios of resp. 350, 450 and 550 million DKK. The three scenarios are weighed by: 350 (25%), 450 (50%) and 550 million DKK (25%). The comparison will be made based on the fee structure provided and the Ongoing Charges Figures (OCF), for the three levels of portfolios. The cost is measured as OCF after rebate (net cost for the foundation). Note that eventual custody fees are excluded and are not considered part of the evaluation.
Category of award threshold criterion : Weight (percentage, exact)
Award criterion number : 20

5.1.15 Techniques

Framework agreement :
No framework agreement
Information about the dynamic purchasing system :
No dynamic purchase system

5.1.16 Further information, mediation and review

Review organisation : Klagenævnet for Udbud
Information about review deadlines : I henhold til lov om Klagenævnet for Udbud (lov nr. 492 af 12. maj 2010 med senere ændringer), skal klage indgives til Klagenævnet for Udbud inden følgende klagefrister: Klage over ikke at være blevet udvalgt skal være indgivet til Klagenævnet for Udbud inden 20 kalen-derdage, jf. lovens § 7, stk. 1, fra dagen efter afsendelse af en underretning til de berørte ansøgere om, hvem der er blevet udvalgt, når underretningen er ledsaget af en begrundelse for beslutningen i overensstemmelse med lovens § 2, stk. 1, nr. 1, og udbudslovens § 171, stk. 2. I andre situationer skal klage over udbud, jf. lovens § 7, stk. 2, være indgivet til Klagenævnet for Udbud inden: 1) 45 kalenderdage efter at ordregiveren har offentliggjort en bekendtgørelse i Den Europæiske Unions Tidende om, at ordregiveren har indgået en kontrakt. Fristen regnes fra dagen efter den dag, hvor bekendtgørelsen er blevet offentliggjort. 2) 30 kalenderdage regnet fra dagen efter den dag, hvor ordregiveren har underrettet de berørte tilbudsgivere om, at en kontrakt baseret på en rammeaftale med genåbning af konkurrencen eller et dynamisk indkøbssystem er indgået, hvis underretningen har angivet en begrundelse for beslutningen. 3) 6 måneder efter at ordregiveren har indgået en rammeaftale regnet fra dagen efter den dag, hvor ordregiveren har underrettet de berørte ansøgere og tilbudsgivere, jf. lovens § 2, stk. 2, og ud-budslovens § 171, stk. 4. 4) 20 kalenderdage regnet fra dagen efter at ordregiveren har meddelt sin beslutning, jf. udbuds-lovens § 185, stk. 2. Senest samtidig med at en klage indgives til Klagenævnet for Udbud, skal klageren skriftligt under-rette ordregiveren om, at klage indgives til Klagenævnet for Udbud, og om hvorvidt klagen er indgi-vet i standstill-perioden, jf. lovens § 6, stk. 4. I tilfælde hvor klagen ikke er indgivet i standstill-perioden, skal klageren tillige angive, hvorvidt der begæres opsættende virkning af klagen, jf. lovens § 12, stk. 1. Klagenævnet for Udbuds e-mailadresse er klfu@naevneneshus.dk . Klagenævnet for Udbuds klagevejledning kan findes på https://naevneneshus.dk/start-din-klage/klagenaevnet-for-udbud/vejledning/.
Organisation providing information concerning the general regulatory framework for taxes applicable in the place where the contract is to be performed : Klagenævnet for Udbud
Organisation providing information concerning the general regulatory framework for environmental protection applicable in the place where the contract is to be performed : Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen
Organisation providing additional information about the procurement procedure : Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
Organisation providing offline access to the procurement documents : Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
Organisation providing more information on the review procedures : Klagenævnet for Udbud

6. Results

Value of all contracts awarded in this notice : 460 000 000 Danish krone

6.1 Result lot ldentifier : LOT-0000

At least one winner was chosen.

6.1.2 Information about winners

Winner :
Official name : Jyske Capital
Tender :
Tender identifier : High yield - Management of high-yield bonds in a UCITS Fund
Identifier of lot or group of lots : LOT-0000
Value of the tender : 2 500 000 Danish krone
Subcontracting : No
Contract information :
Identifier of the contract : High yield - Management of high-yield bonds in a UCITS Fund
Date of the conclusion of the contract : 08/08/2025

6.1.4 Statistical information

Received tenders or requests to participate :
Type of received submissions : Tenders
Number of tenders or requests to participate received : 17

8. Organisations

8.1 ORG-0001

Official name : Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
Registration number : 17730290
Department : Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
Postal address : Holbergsgade 14, 1
Town : København K
Postcode : 1057
Country subdivision (NUTS) : Byen København ( DK011 )
Country : Denmark
Contact point : DG - Bao Quoc Truong
Email : bqt@dg.dk
Telephone : +45 42411993
Roles of this organisation :
Buyer
Organisation providing additional information about the procurement procedure
Organisation providing offline access to the procurement documents

8.1 ORG-0002

Official name : Klagenævnet for Udbud
Registration number : 37795526
Postal address : Nævnenes Hus, Toldboden 2
Town : Viborg
Postcode : 8800
Country subdivision (NUTS) : Vestjylland ( DK041 )
Country : Denmark
Telephone : +45 72405600
Roles of this organisation :
Review organisation
Organisation providing more information on the review procedures
Organisation providing information concerning the general regulatory framework for taxes applicable in the place where the contract is to be performed

8.1 ORG-0003

Official name : Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen
Registration number : 10294819
Postal address : Carl Jacobsens Vej 35:
Town : Valby
Postcode : 2500
Country subdivision (NUTS) : Byen København ( DK011 )
Country : Denmark
Telephone : +45 41715000
Roles of this organisation :
Organisation providing information concerning the general regulatory framework for environmental protection applicable in the place where the contract is to be performed

8.1 ORG-0004

Official name : Jyske Capital
Size of the economic operator : Medium
Registration number : 17616617
Town : Silkeborg
Postcode : 8600
Country subdivision (NUTS) : Vestjylland ( DK041 )
Country : Denmark
Contact point : Christian Farø
Roles of this organisation :
Tenderer
Winner of these lots : LOT-0000

8.1 ORG-0005

Official name : Mercell Holding ASA
Registration number : 980921565
Postal address : Askekroken 11
Town : Oslo
Postcode : 0277
Country subdivision (NUTS) : Oslo ( NO081 )
Country : Norway
Contact point : eSender
Telephone : +47 21018800
Fax : +47 21018801
Internet address : http://mercell.com/
Roles of this organisation :
TED eSender

Notice information

Notice identifier/version : d71a25b8-4c48-4414-8713-256350f927b4 - 01
Form type : Result
Notice type : Contract or concession award notice – standard regime
Notice dispatch date : 12/09/2025 09:22 +00:00
Notice dispatch date (eSender) : 12/09/2025 09:23 +00:00
Languages in which this notice is officially available : English
Notice publication number : 00600302-2025
OJ S issue number : 176/2025
Publication date : 15/09/2025