Pensions: here’s how EPAP effectively diversifies the savings of four professions

Property therefore accounts for just 0.41 per cent of total assets. This is a feature that sets Epap apart from many longer-established professional pension funds. Long-established pension funds have often accumulated significant property portfolios over time, partly as a result of the investment policies prevailing in the years prior to privatisation. Epap, established in 1996 and fully operational since 2000, has an investment structure that is heavily weighted towards financial instruments, with a virtually negligible real estate component.

From a geographical perspective, too, the portfolio appears to be well diversified. Italia accounts for 22 per cent of investments, whilst 39 per cent is invested in the rest of Europe and 27 per cent in North America. The remainder is spread across emerging markets, Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. As a result, the concentration in the domestic market is significantly lower than that seen in many other occupational pension funds.

The organisation’s main investment vehicle is the dedicated Eis Flexible Multiasset fund, which had a market value of approximately 1.11 billion at the end of 2025 (70 per cent of total financial assets). “At first glance,” explains Vincenzo Cagnetta, an analyst and independent financial adviser at Studio Enca, “this figure might suggest a significant concentration of management. However, the clarifications provided by the institution reveal a different picture. The sub-fund is in fact organised according to a multi-manager model and is divided across several specialist mandates, including global equity, corporate bond, government bond and flexible strategies. “This structure,” notes Cagnetta, “allows for diversification across management styles and underlying asset classes, thereby reducing the risk of concentration with a single manager.”