With the fund’s portfolio of assets now worth more than £9bn, the panel will complement the PPF’s existing managers and give it the flexibility to access a broader range of bond strategies.

At present, up to 70% of the assets held by the lifeboat fund are allocated to cash and bond strategies.They are targeted at returns above the LIBOR inter-bank interest rate with the aim of helping the PPF to manage its assets in a manner consistent with its low risk philosophy.

In the past, the focus of the PPF portfolio has been mainly in the global sovereign market.

In a statement announcing the launch of the procurement process, the PPF said: ‘The new panel of specialist managers will give PPF greater flexibility to respond to opportunities when they arise and help deliver attractive returns through the economic cycle.’

In particular, PPF is looking for managers with expertise in absolute return strategies, asset backed securities and emerging market debt. The contracts will be initially for four years with two renewals lasting for a term of two years.

The Fund’s existing managers will also continue to manage money for the PPF under the terms of their current contracts. These managers, who were appointed to global sovereign mandates in 2009, are: Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Mondrian, PIMCO and Rogge.