Investment Management Weekly articles from April 2008

Investment Management Weekly archives from April 2008

TIAA-CREF Takes on New Leader, Chairman.
April 7, 2008... Effective April 14, Roger Ferguson will take on the CEO and president role at the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA-CREF) and Ronald Thompson will become chairman of the board. They are replacing Herbert Allison who is retiring....

Texas School Plan to Enter PE Market: Fund Prepping RFP.
April 7, 2008... The Texas Permanent School Fund (TPSF) is making strides in making a maiden investment in private equity. At its meeting last month the board directed staff to bring an RFP to "hire either a specialist advisor or fund-of-funds manager to...

Fresno County Gears Up for Search.
April 7, 2008... The $3 billion Fresno County Employees' Retirement Association (FCERA) is prepping an RFP for an investment consultant search that could possibly replace incumbent Wurts & Associates, said Roberto Pena, the California plan's administrator. ...

Kansas Plans Could Merge Investments.
April 7, 2008... Investments for the Police Retirement System of Kansas City and the Civilian Employees' Retirement System of the Police Department of Kansas City could soon be joined in matrimony. According the minutes for the March 11 board meeting for...

Texas Trust Fund To Tap Real Estate Market.
April 7, 2008... The State of Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has issued an RFP on behalf of the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company (TTSTC) for global real estate investment managers. The TTSTC oversees approximately $3.5 billion in public...

Pa. SERS Reissues Consultant RFP.
April 7, 2008... The Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System (SERS) has once again issued an RFI for an investment consultant to possibly replace incumbent Rocaton Investment Advisors. The search is being conducted in anticipation of Rocaton's...

Florida College Seeks First Manager Ever.
April 7, 2008... Edison College is in the market for a manager-of-managers to help oversee its $12 million in assets. According to an RFP issued by the Florida college, it is looking for a firm to work with its investment committee to develop an asset...

Natick R.S. Hunts for Manager.
April 7, 2008... The Natick Retirement System is seeking a manager-of-managers to oversee its $88 million portfolio. Kathleen Bacon, director of the plan, did not return calls by press time for additional details. The Massachusetts Public Employee...

Santa Barbara Makes Int'l Equity Hire.
April 7, 2008... Batterymarch Financial Management has been selected to manage a $20 million emerging markets equity portfolio for the Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System (SBCERS), said Oscar Peters, the California plan's administrator. ...

LA 911 Winds Down Hedge Funds Search.
April 7, 2008... The $15.1 billion Los Angeles Fire & Police Pension System (LAFPP) has moved into the next phase of a search for hedge-fund-of-funds managers to fill up an increase in the plan's allocation to the asset class. According to the agenda for...

Odds & Ends.
April 7, 2008... * David Blumer, chief executive of Credit Suisse's asset management business, is leaving the firm to join Swiss Re as head of financial markets. Rob Shafir, Credit Suisse's chief executive of its Americas business will take over Blumer's role...

Santa Fe Fund Names New Director.
April 7, 2008... The board of the nearly $9 billion New Mexico Educational Retirement Board (NMERB) appointed Jan Goodwin as the plan's new executive director, according to a statement on the plan's Web site. The hiring of Goodwin ends the search to...

CoPERA Singles Out Iran-Related Investments.
April 7, 2008... Eleven companies-with a combined market value topping $2.6 billion-have been placed on a watch list by the Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (CoPERA) for doing business with, or in, Iran. CoPERA, a direct investor in eight...

Gloucester R.S. Seeks New Leader.
April 7, 2008... The Gloucester Contributory Retirement System is hunting for a new retirement board administrator to oversee the day-to-day operations at the plan. Linda Geary, the plan's current administrator, said that she is retiring on June 30. She...

GAM Expands Fund-of-Funds Team: Alternative manager brings on two former Condor execs.
April 7, 2008... Alternative investment management firm GAM has embarked on an expansion with the recent hiring of Richard Silver as head of GAM Multi-Manager - New York, and Jeffrey Rose as investment manager, two newly created positions. "The primary...

LACERS Hires for Real Estate.
April 14, 2008... The Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System approved three new real estate investments totaling $75 million last week, bringing the $11.1 billion plan one step closer to its asset allocation target of 5%. The board approved a $10...

Ohio PERS Hits Market with Search.
April 14, 2008... The Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) is looking to retain a firm to provide investment reviews for the $70 billion fund. The RFP posted on its Web site indicates that reviews would be performed on internal investment...

Baltimore ERS Issues Consultant RFP.
April 14, 2008... A general investment consultant is being sought by the Baltimore Employees' and Elected Officials' Retirement System, which encompasses the $1.5 billion Employees' Retirement System (ERS), the $19 million Elected Officials' Retirement System...

Va. Town Seeks Investment Manager.
April 14, 2008... The Town Of Leesburg is hunting for an investment manager to oversee the retiree health care and other post employment benefit (OPEB) funds for the town, an RFP issued by the town indicates. Kathy Elgin, chief purchasing officer with the...

Burlington ERS Searches for PE Fund-of-Funds.
April 14, 2008... The City of Burlington Employees' Retirement System has issued an RFP for a private equity fund-of-funds manager. Marina Ushakova, retirement administrator with the Vermont plan, referred questions regarding the search to Dahab Associates'...

Illinois SURS to Add to Manager Program.
April 14, 2008... The State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) has issued an RFP for non-U.S. equity managers to oversee $50 million each as part of the plan's manager development program, which focuses on minority- and women-owned firms. ...

Kern County Plan Eyes Int'l Changes.
April 14, 2008... On the agenda for the Kern County Employees' Retirement Association (KCERA) board meeting last week was the possible restructuring of the plan's international equity portfolio. The roughly $3 billion plan discussed a proposed set-up in...

Big Apple Plan Earmarks $500M For Green Funds.
April 14, 2008... New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli launched the Green Strategic Investment Program last week which will focus on committing $500 million to "environmentally focused investment strategies" over the next three years. "We're looking...

San Fran Wraps Consultant Search.
April 14, 2008... Portfolio Advisors will continue to to provide alternative investment consulting services to the San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System (SFERS), said David Kushner, deputy director of investments with the California plan...

Odds & Ends.
April 14, 2008... * Jeffrey Braemer and Michael Ray have joined TimesSquare Capital Management as senior VPs and product managers. The duo joins the firm's client servicing and product management team. Braemer was most recently with Jacobs Levy Equity Management...

New CEO Named at SSgA.
April 14, 2008... State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has filled the vacant president and CEO post with the hiring of Scott Powers, the firm recently announced. He replaces Bill Hunt who resigned earlier this year. James Phalen, who has served as interim...

Bridgewater Enters Institutional.
April 14, 2008... Mutual fund firm Bridgewater Capital Management is making an assertive push into the institutional market and has hired Kyle Mylius to help lead its efforts. He will be responsible for the firm's business development in the institutional...

Delicate Balance: Redemptions, Opportunity: Hedge Fund Insiders' Meet on Stopping the Worldwide Financial Earthquake.
April 14, 2008... Things look pretty dismal when a company is burning cash and can't replace revenue in a week when even the chairman of the Federal Reserve goes against administration policy to acknowledge a broad and deepening recession in the U.S. However, if...

Plan Adds to PE Roster.
April 21, 2008... The $37.5 billion Maryland State Retirement & Pension System has made new hires in private equity. The Baltimore plan committed $150 million to Madison Dearborn Capital Partners VI, 79.6 million to CVC European Partners V $40 million to...

Texas Fund Looks At High Yield Bonds.
April 21, 2008... The El Paso City Employees' Pension Fund is on the hunt for a high yield manager, said Robert Ash, administrator of the $550 million plan. Ash explained that the board hired the plan's investment consultant, Mercer, to conduct a high yield...

Iowa Judges Look for Large-Cap Firms.
April 21, 2008... The $90 million Iowa Judicial Retirement System (JRS) is looking to add a large-cap manager to its stable. Kyle Rice of the state treasurer's office said that the plan has hit the market for a large-cap manager because Bank of New...

Plan Sponsors Place Focus on Risk.
April 21, 2008... With the threat of a U.S. recession, defined benefit plan sponsors likely will have to pay more attention to managing the risk in their plans, experts reported to Employee Benefit News, IMW's sister publication. HR consulting firm Hewitt...

PRIM Board to Tap RE, Timber Consultants.
April 21, 2008... The Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (PRIM) are looking for consultants to assist with investments in real estate and timber. The general real estate and timber consultant will assist the board with the evaluation...

CalPERS Searches for Bond Firms.
April 21, 2008... The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is looking to create a spring-fed pool of managers to oversee non-investment grade bond portfolios. "We use the spring-fed pools' to clear managers for potential allocations,...

Bethlehem Fund Makes Large-Cap Selection.
April 21, 2008... Navellier & Associates has been added to the manager roster at the City of Bethlehem Aggregate Pension Plan for a large-cap domestic growth equity mandate, confirmed Frank Burnette, the Pennsylvania plan's consultant with Morrison Fiduciary...

Chicago TPF Continues Real Estate Push.
April 21, 2008... The Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund (CTPF) considered three potential Pan-European real estate investment managers at its meeting last week, confirmed Kevin Huber, executive director of the $12.9 billion plan. Huber said that The Townsend...

Texas TRS Hires for Partnership Program.
April 21, 2008... The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) has partnered with four firms for its new Strategic Partnership Program. The program is designed to focus on long-term partnerships with the four managers and will utilize the full global...

MFC Adds Saeli To Sales Team.
April 21, 2008... Frank Saeli has been named head of U.S. institutional sales and relationship management at MFC Global Investment Management, where he will report to J-F Courville, president and chief operating officer at the firm. The role is a newly...

American Airlines' Beacon Funds Take Flight.
April 21, 2008... American Airlines' parent company, AMR Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, announced last Wednesday that it will be unloading 90% of its American Beacon Advisors investment management unit for $480 million in cash. That 90% interest is being picked...

Odds & Ends.
April 21, 2008... * Christopher Tobe and Timothy McDonough have joined New England Pension Consultants (NEPC) as senior consultant and consultant, respectively. Prior to joining NEPC Tobe was director of pensions for AEGON Institutional Markets, and has also...

Merced Interviews Alpha Finalists.
April 28, 2008... The Merced County Employees' Retirement Association (MCERA) interviewed four finalists for an international equity alpha mandate last week. MCERA heard presentations from EARNEST Partners, Manning & Napier Advisors, Marathon Asset...

SBCERS to Consider Real Return: Fund Will Explore Options in A/L Study.
April 28, 2008... The $1.8 billion Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System (SBCERS) is set to conduct a soup-to-nuts review of its assets, said Oscar Peters, the California plan's administrator last week. Pension Consulting Alliance, the plan's...

Tulare County to Conduct Asset Review.
April 28, 2008... The Tulare County Employees' Retirement Association (TCERA) is gearing up to reassess its asset mix during the second half of this year, said Dave Kehler, administrator at the California plan. Kehler said that the plan would likely conduct...

-ST_BY-.
April 28, 2008... Babson Enters Distressed Debt: Firm Takes Advantage of Ripe Market with MCM Acquisition Though Cliff Noreen, vice chairman of Babson Capital Management said that he doesn't make acquisitions based upon short-term considerations like market...

EAI Seeks RE Fund-of-funds Managers.
April 28, 2008... Evaluation Associates (EAI) is looking for a manager to oversee a double-bottom line real estate fund-of-funds focused on value-added and opportunistic real estate strategies in the U.S. The consultant wants a manager to oversee a...

Equity Searches Abound at Cincinnati R.S.
April 28, 2008... The $2.6 billion City of Cincinnati Retirement System (CRS) is moving ahead with its search for small-cap value and mid-cap growth equity managers, said John Boudinot, executive director at the plan. Boudinot said that the two searches,...

Virginia Plan Winds Down Search.
April 28, 2008... The Educational Employees' Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC) is nearing a decision in its search for a small-cap equity manager, according to the minutes from the board's meeting last month. The ERFC conducted...

Real Estate Finalists Picked in Orange County.
April 28, 2008... The Orange County Employees' Retirement System (OCERS) has whittled down the contenders for managers to oversee a core open-end real estate commingled fund, said spokesman Robert Kinsler. The board authorized staff to conduct due diligence...

WSIB Invests $750M In Private Markets.
April 28, 2008... The Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) has pumped up the volume on its investments in real estate and private equity, confirmed Liz Mendizabal, a spokeswoman for the plan. In private equity, investments of $100 million each in...

L.A. County Makes Headway In PE Search.
April 28, 2008... Last week, the board of investments for the Los Angeles County Employees' Retirement Association (LACERA) made progress in its search for discretionary private equity emerging managers, according to the meeting's agenda. The board...

Odds & Ends.
April 28, 2008... *Michael McCauley has been named as head of corporate governance with the $164 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS). McCauley was previously a senior corporate governance officer, director of administration for client...

CalPERS' Read to Leave CIO Post.
April 28, 2008... Russell Read is stepping down from his position as investment head at the $244.1 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) after nearly two years in the position, confirmed Clark McKinley, a spokesman for the fund. A...

CalPERS Adds Rules to Go Green.
April 28, 2008... The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has approved new guidelines that expand the system's corporate governance principles in regards to environmental disclosure and diversity of corporate boards. The purpose of the...