AGF Investments Inc. (AGF) Thursday announced that it has been awarded a natural resources mandate by China’s National Council for Social Security Fund (NCSSF).

The NCSSF, a government agency on the ministerial level directly under the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, is responsible for the management and operation of the National Social Security Fund.

The fund serves as the social security strategic reserve centralized by the Chinese government to meet the social security needs during the peak time period of China’s future aging population.

The NCSSF engaged AGF in a thorough review process before granting the mandate.

“This is a landmark win for AGF and for our expansive global institutional business,” says Blake Goldring, chairman and CEO of AGF Management Ltd (TSX:AGF.B).

The mandate will be managed by AGF’s global resources team, led by Robert Lyon — a seasoned resources manager with over 20 years of investment experience.

AGF has been managing a global resources strategy for over a decade and currently oversees more than $1.3 billion in total global resources equity strategy assets as of June 30, 2012.

Chris Boyle, senior vice president, institutional for AGF Investments Inc. would not disclose the size of the assets being managed by AGF for the Chinese government fund for reasons of confidentiality, but said it is “significant.” The win will not only boost AGF’s business, but could lead to other institutional management contracts in Asia and globally, as it is an endorsement by the Chinese government, he says.

“It is an affirmation of our global resource investment capabilities,” Boyle says. “The decision process involved a thorough vetting of our team, investment process and the company. We are seen as being a truly tier one money manager with global investment capabilities and a global distribution footprint.”

The decision took about a year, with multiple visits and interactions, including visits by AGF senior management to China and on site visits in Canada by Chinese officials.

Boyle says AGF has been aggressively expanding its institutional business for the past 10 years or so, and has grown to about 100 clients around the world, including the U.K., Europe, Middle East and Asia.

“The institutional business is a complement to our Canadian retail business, and helps deploy our capacity in other markets,” Boyle says.

Although Boyle says the resource sector has been hit recently by short-term headwinds such as investor concerns about a slowdown in global growth, AGF’s long-term view is positive, and so is that of the Chinese government.

“We believe in continuing global economic growth along with sustainable long term growth in demand for commodities, which is positive for the companies invested in harvesting them,” Boyle says.