Investment Management Weekly articles from August 2004

Investment Management Weekly archives from August 2004

Illinois May Block VC Fund Info.
August 2, 2004... Retirement systems within the state of Illinois may soon begin keeping a few secrets-if a crucial pending House Bill is approved. House Bill 5252 would allow information about venture capital funds to be shielded. Illinois State Senator Don...

UC Preps for $2.2B Real Estate Run.
August 2, 2004... The University of California is preparing to search for managers to oversee what is said to be the endowment's first-ever real estate allocation. According to sources familiar with the fund, the UC Board of Regents decided to allocate 5%...

SCERA Watches NACM On Small-Cap: Firm's Large-Cap Woes Continue to Haunt Them.
August 2, 2004... The Sonoma County Employees' Retirement Association has placed Nicholas- Applegate Capital Management (NACM) on watch on a small-cap growth account of an undetermined size, after reportedly terminating the manager from its $135 million...

Hedge Fund Dog Fight Reaches Fevered Pitch.
August 2, 2004... The noise surrounding hedge fund registration grew to a thunderous clap late last month, as Congress heard testimony from several industry professionals and government officials on the merits of such a groundbreaking move. The series of...

Minturn Sues Louisiana Teachers.
August 2, 2004... Following one full year after his reportedly forced exit from the $10 billion Louisiana Teachers' Retirement System, Brian Minturn is seeking retribution in the form of a lawsuit against the plan, his lawyer Bruce MacMurdo, said last week. ...

Nissen Retires as SCERA Head.
August 2, 2004... Robert Nissen, administrator for the Sonoma County Employees' Retirement Association, retired on July 7 after a 25-year career at the plan. Gary Bei, the plan's assistant administrator has filled the position. Bei, who was unavailable for...

Wilmington Trust Appoints New CIO.
August 2, 2004... Wilmington Trust Co. hired Neil Wolfson as CIO. Wolfson, reached at his New York office, confirmed he joined the trust bank-the largest in the U.S.-last week. Robert Christian, senior V.P. in the asset-management division at Wilmington...

Benchmark Launches CIMI Network.
August 2, 2004... The Benchmark Companies-the Fla.-based firm that investigates abuses in the money management industry-has created the Center for Investment Management Investigation. CIMI will operate as a networking resource for plan sponsors to combat...

MLIM Appoints New Value Team Leader.
August 2, 2004... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has hired industry veteran, Frederick Gaskin, as its new team leader and portfolio manager for its Relative Value/U.S. Active Large Cap Value strategy. He will join the team of portfolio managers including...

OPERS Hires Two for Private Equity.
August 2, 2004... Under the advisement of the Oregon Investment Council, the $45 billion Oregon Public Employees' Retirement System (OPERS) has selected two additional managers for its private equity roster, said Todd Jones, a spokesman for the fund. The...

Pru Taps Green As Head Biz Development.
August 2, 2004... Peter Green, former principal of State Street Global Advisors, has moved to Prudential Financial to head up business development initiatives. He will be responsible for dealing with the wealth management units of private and mid-size banks, as...

Armada Appoints New Head of Distribution.
August 2, 2004... National City's institutional asset management division has appointed Tim Mahoney, who has almost 20 years in the financial services industry, as head of distribution for the Armada Funds. National City is the advisor to the Armada Funds. ...

Third-Party Marketing Sees Growth.
August 2, 2004... As money management firms blaze a trail to increase alpha, build and maintain client lists and offer the best performing investment strategies, many are retaining third-party marketing firms to help them gain access to uncharted investment...

Meyer: Good People Bring Value in Investment Management.
August 2, 2004... When Mark Meyer helped to build out the business development department for Franklin Templeton Private Client Group (FTPCG), his industry experience had shaped his understanding of how good people add value in investment management. "I...

Odds & Ends.
August 2, 2004... *The Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board ended contract negotiations with hedge-fund-of-fund outfit Silver Creek Partners. MassPRIM Board in April had selected Silver Creek as one of five hedge-fund-of-fund managers. ...

MassPRIM Reopens Hedge Fund Slot.
August 9, 2004... The Massachusetts Pension Reserve Investment Management Board will reopen its search for a hedge fund-manager. The $32 billion board broke off a prolonged negotiation with hedge fund manager Silver Creek Partners over a week ago. The plan...

Clients Take Notice of Munder CEO Departure.
August 9, 2004... Jim Robinson's pending departure from his position as CEO of the Birmingham, Mich.-based Munder Capital Management, has led at least two of the firm's clients to take a second look at the firm. The $1.1 billion Miami Firefighters' and...

Stanislaus County to Look at Alternatives.
August 9, 2004... The $950 million Stanislaus County Employees' Retirement Association (StanCERA) is being educated about alternative investments-specifically hedge funds, private equity and real estate-a move that could potentially bring changes to the plan's...

Illinois Plan to Issue RFI for Emerging Managers.
August 9, 2004... The $12 billion State Universities Retirement System of Illinois will issue RFIs for fixed-income and international equity managers later this year, said Doug Wesley, the plan's investment officer. The pending searches would be part of the...

MacKay Shields Procures Pareto's High-Yield Team.
August 9, 2004... New York-based investment manager MacKay Shields has acquired the high-yield/global high-yield portfolio management team from Pareto Partners. Ravi Akhoury, chairman and CEO at MacKay, explained that the firm's current capacity in the...

Middlesex Plots Domestic, Int'l Searches.
August 9, 2004... The $570 million Middlesex County Retirement System has launched searches for a domestic core smid-cap manager, as well as international smid-cap growth and value managers. Each mandate is valued at approximately $15 million. Full details...

StanCERA Administrator Bolts, Search Underway.
August 9, 2004... The Stanislaus County Employees' Retirement Association (StanCERA) will begin a search for a new retirement administrator, Tom Watson, county treasurer told IMW last week. Watson said Robert Harmon officially resigned from the fund on July...

SamCERA Opens CEO Search.
August 9, 2004... The $1.4 billion San Mateo County Employees' Retirement Association is searching for a new CEO. Sid McCausland, the fund's sole CEO since 1994, announced his retirement effective March 31, 2005. The deadline for applications is Sept....

Glenmede Trust Hires Client-Service Veteran.
August 9, 2004... The Glenmede Trust Co. has hired Howard "Chip" Wilson as its new client-service director. Wilson replaces retired executive VP and client-service director J. Thomas Dunlevy. Dunlevy, who had been with the firm since 1987 retired earlier...

FPPACO Hires Two for Int'l Equity.
August 9, 2004... The Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado has reinvested $190 million from a terminated international equity account previously managed by Putnam Investments. FPPACO voted to split the mandate evenly between Julius Baer Group and...

Ind. Teachers' Director to Retire.
August 9, 2004... The $6.5 billion Indiana State Teachers' Retirement System will be on the hunt for an executive director come December, as William Christopher, the plan's current executive director, has announced plans to retire at the end of the year. ...

Pitcairn Financial Hires Sales Head.
August 9, 2004... Pitcairn Financial Group has hired Brian Hughes as its first-ever national sales director. The hiring is related to a longtime plan to break out of its traditional multi-family office business into a broader financial-service provider,...

Emerging Manager Usage Continues to Grow.
August 9, 2004... The demand for emerging and minority-owned investment management firms continues to grow, as plan sponsors set out to increase alpha. "It's been a cyclical phenomenon," said Clayton Jue, executive VP and practice leader for...

Dedication Reaps Significant Gains for Shuster.
August 9, 2004... Let Richard Shuster explain how he and the Weiss Peck & Greer (WPG) Small-Cap Value team managed a 24% rate-of-return since 1999 and he may just talk your ear off. "If you had given us a dollar then, you would have three now," he might...

Odds & Ends.
August 9, 2004... *Aetos Capital has hired Andrea Bollyky as managing director of business development and client service for absolute return-investment offshoot. She joined following a stint at Clay Finley as principal of global business development and...

Chapman Found Guilty.
August 16, 2004... After a seven-week trial, a federal jury found Nathan Chapman, head of Chapman Capital Management and former money manager for the Maryland State Retirement & Pension System, guilty of 23 counts of fraud and filing false tax returns last week....

Northern Trust Loses Indexing Squad.
August 16, 2004... The departures of key officials at Northern Trust Global Investments' (NTGI) quantitative research management team has led at least one client to place the firm on watch, but could potentially lead other clients to follow suit. James...

Oklahoma Bravest Scans Alternatives Market.
August 16, 2004... The Oklahoma Firefighter Pension & Retirement System is examining alternative investments. The 13-member board of trustees at the $1.5 billion system is showing interest in hedge fund and managed-future investing, said Robert Jones,...

Tulare County Learns About Alternatives: Private Equity, Hedge Fund Allocations on the Horizon.
August 16, 2004... The $770 million Tulare County Employees' Retirement Association is being educated on alternative investments, specifically private equity and hedge funds, and could make first-time allocations to the asset classes in the not-too-distant...

Vt. System Considers Balanced Account.
August 16, 2004... The Burlington Employees' Retirement System is considering placing a portion of its $110 million portfolio under balanced management and has initiated a search for a manager to oversee the account. Cynthia Davis, plan administrator,...

Methuen Eyes Private Equity, High-Yield.
August 16, 2004... The $68 million Methuen Retirement Board is currently searching for managers to handle private equity and high-yield fixed-income portfolios, said Terrylee Murphy, retirement administrator for the Massachusetts plan. Each mandate is valued at...

Swampscott Issues Small-Cap RFP.
August 16, 2004... The $24 million Swampscott Contributory Retirement System is searching for a small-cap core manager to replace incumbent Cibelli Capital Management, said Richard DiTesa, administrator for the Massachusetts plan. "They haven't been...

LADWP Readies Consultant RFP.
August 16, 2004... The $5.8 billion Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Retirement Board is organizing an RFP for a general consultant. The plan's contract with incumbent Pension Consulting Alliance expires in October, said Sangeeta Bhatia, assistant...

Arlington County Executive Resigns.
August 16, 2004... Bruce Kallos, executive director of the $1 billion Arlington County Retirement Board, resigned from the fund on Aug. 5 amid allegations of improper use of the plan's credit card for travel and personal expenses, said Steve Watts, the investment...

San Bernardino Hires Two for Hedge Funds.
August 16, 2004... The $3 billion San Bernardino County Employees' Retirement System has hired Benchmark Funds and AIG Investments to each oversee $100 million in hedge fund investments. Don Pierce, the plan's senior investment officer, said that Benchmark...

Hawaii SERS Bids Aloha to Capital Int'l.
August 16, 2004... The $8.5 billion Hawaii State Employees' Retirement System has moved to call it quits with Capital International, the plan's emerging markets manager overseeing a $250 million account. The manager, which had reportedly been on watch since May...

City of Austin Hires Real Estate Manager.
August 16, 2004... The $1.2 billion City of Austin Employees' Retirement System has selected its first real estate manager, said Executive Director Stephen Edmonds. The board launched the search last September following an asset allocation study (See IMW,...

OPERS' Private Equity Program Takes Off.
August 16, 2004... The Ohio Public Employees' Retirement System has made its inaugural move into private equity. The $60 billion system hired Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners for a $75 million corporate finance mandate and OCM Principal Opportunities Fund...

Colorado University Hires Investment Guru, Looks to Beef-Up Portfolio.
August 16, 2004... The University of Colorado Foundation has hired Christopher Bittman as its first CIO, said Michael Byram, president and CEO last week. Bittman will be responsible for making day-to-day investment decisions for the university's $600 million...

Third Avenue Hires Research Pro.
August 16, 2004... New York-based money manager Third Avenue Management (TAM), has hired Jakub Rehor as a senior research analyst for its International Value Fund, said Amit Wadhwaney, portfolio manager at the firm. Rehor was most recently a research analyst...

Rocaton Expands Consulting Resources.
August 16, 2004... In the ever-evolving world of investment management, Rocaton Investment Advisors-the Norwalk, Conn.-based investment consultant-has broadened its capabilities to include consulting to large financial intermediaries. "There has been an...

Financial Firms Respond to Terror Threats: Security Experts Offer Hints on Protection.
August 16, 2004... The country is on edge from the recent warnings that terrorists are planning an attack before the November elections against financial services firms, and many experts say the financial service industry, is ill prepared to prevent another...

Marker: Value to be Had in Mid-Cap.
August 16, 2004... The route to investment management was not as clear-cut for Carl Marker, president and CIO of IMS Capital Management. After graduating from the University of Oregon, with computer-science, and psychology degrees, Marker instead chose to...

Odds & Ends.
August 16, 2004... *St. Paul (Minn.) Electrical Odds & Ends Construction hired real estate specialist ASB Capital Management to invest $5 million each for its $100 million pension plan and $90 million money-purchase plan. *Andy Summers, a former manager...

Treasury Excuses Benefit Restrictions.
August 23, 2004... The Treasury Department exempted some airline, steel manufacturing and other businesses with underfunded pension from a restriction on increasing benefits if their actuaries certified that the company would contribute money to the plan above...

FSBA Eyes Cap Guardian, Drops Cap Int'l.
August 23, 2004... The $120 billion Florida State Board of Administration (FSBA) has placed Capital Guardian Trust Company on watch on a $1.2 billion international equity account and has terminated the firm's affiliate-Capital International-from an $81 million...

New Mexico PERA Plots Dual Searches.
August 23, 2004... Manager contract expirations have sparked dual searches at the New Mexico Public Employees' Retirement Association. Next month, the plan will issue RFPs for managers to oversee mortgage-backed and smid-cap and/or small-cap growth accounts, said...

Missouri Plan Preps for Asset Study.
August 23, 2004... The $1.3 billion Missouri Highway & Transportation Employees' & Highway Patrol Retirement System is gearing up to launch a full-scale asset allocation/liability study next month, a move that could lead to changes in the plan. The study...

Louisiana Plans Ponder Equity Boost.
August 23, 2004... A new law allowing smaller retirement plans in Louisiana to boost its equity portfolio to a maximum 65% has some fiduciaries eyeing greater equity exposure. A bicameral bill, Senate Bill 863, or Act 850, was signed into law this month and...

California U. Hires New Consultant.
August 23, 2004... The Board of Regents for the University of California has hired Richards & Tierney as its new general consultant, replacing Wilshire Associates. Wilshire had served as the plan's consultant for three years prior to contract expirations on...

Watson Wyatt Adds West Coast Office.
August 23, 2004... Watson Wyatt Investment Consulting, the investment consulting arm of Watson Wyatt & Co., has expanded its West Coast presence with a new office in the Los Angeles area. The build out is part of a five-year plan for doubling its existing...

SCERS Hires for Hedge Fund-of-Funds.
August 23, 2004... The Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System, last week, hired Blackstone Group and Grosvenor Asset Management to oversee the plan's hedge-fund-of-funds allocation. The duo will split a mandate worth $200 million. The $3.2 billion...

SWIB Crafts Consultant Shortlist.
August 23, 2004... The State of Wisconsin Investment Board has compiled a shortlist of candidates vying to be the plan's private-equity consultant. Thomas Olson, private equity-portfolio manager for the $68 billion plan, said that the board received 10...

Shelby County to Hire for Mid-Cap.
August 23, 2004... The $800 million Shelby County Retirement System is in the finalist stage of a search for its first mid-cap growth manager. David Pontius, manager of the Memphis, Tenn.-based plan, said that the search was initiated earlier this year. He...

Duluth Teachers Pick Int'l Equity Finalists.
August 23, 2004... The $300 million Duluth Teachers' Retirement System has selected Julius Baer, Capital Guardian Trust Company, Walter Scott & Partners and Fidelity Investments as finalists in its $30 million international equity search, said Jay Stoffel, the...

ICON Hires Cheek For Institutional Sales.
August 23, 2004... Stephen Cheek, industry veteran, has been hired by ICON Advisors as director of consultant relations and sales for the company's institutional products. Cheek, who most recently held a similar position at The Hartford Life Insurance Co.,...

Mass. Fund Seeks First Consultant.
August 23, 2004... The $16 million Hull Contributory Retirement Board has launched a search for its first investment consultant. Marcia Bohinc, retirement administrator for the Massachusetts plan, said the board issued the RFP recently and has received 10...

Hedge Funds: What's the Real Story? Survey Deems Hedge Funds Not So Risky.
August 23, 2004... Hennessee Hedge Fund Advisory Group-the New York-based hedge fund consultant-asserts that hedge funds are not the wildly risky investments that they are made out to be and that they are not a threat to the financial system. The findings of...

SEC Reconsidering Abusive Trading Curbs.
August 23, 2004... The Securities and Exchange Commission is reconsidering proposals to curb market timing and eliminate late trading because the measures may unfairly affect pension plan participants and other long-term shareholders, according to the Government...

Palisades' CIO, "Lives By His Own Cooking".
August 23, 2004... Just under a year in existence, Quinn Stills has made a name for his investment management shop, Palisades Investment Partners. Quinn's tenure as chairman and CIO of the fledgling equity firm should not be confused with his experience in the...

Odds & Ends.
August 23, 2004... *RCM has named Peter Anderson its new CIO. Anderson was previously the CIO of American Express Asset Management until he retired in 2001 to begin his own consulting practice. He succeeds Ian Vose, who is now focusing on the international asset...

Institutional Plans Band Together.
August 30, 2004... Some of the nations largest pension funds banded together in another effort to increase transparency in the investment arena. "Shareholders have a right to know how the companies they own are using their money in the political arena," said...

NJ State Issues Pay-to-Play Guidelines: Alternative Investment Foray to Come.
August 30, 2004... The widely-reported pay-to-play fiasco has continued to be a growing concern among public pension funds. The debacle has moved the New Jersey Investment Council to issue a set of stringent guidelines for investment managers as it looks to...

Gillette Hires NEPC; Asset Study to Follow.
August 30, 2004... The $1.1 billion investment division of the Gillette Co. has hired New England Pension Consultants as its first consultant and as a result, could soon embark on an asset allocation study, said Francis Riley, fund manager. Riley said that...

Vermont Plans Look at Large-Cap.
August 30, 2004... The boards of the Vermont State Employee's Retirement System (SERS) and the State Teachers' Retirement System (TERS) are taking a close look at the passive and active large-cap equity manager universe, a move that could result in changes to the...

Calif. Plan to Study Alts, Real Estate.
August 30, 2004... The $1.3 billion Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System will explore alternative and real estate investments during its October board retreat and has instructed its consultant, Pension Consulting Alliance (PCA), to initiate a search...

SamCERA May Search For Real Estate.
August 30, 2004... The $1.4 billion San Mateo County Employees' Retirement Association (SamCERA) may launch a search for a real estate manager in the upcoming months-pending board approval, said Sid McCausland, CEO of the fund. "There is still $29.5 million...

Imperial County Green-Lights A/L Study.
August 30, 2004... The $375 million Imperial County Employees' Retirement System is on the verge of its first-ever asset liability study. Thomas Lightvoet, the plan's consultant at Mercer Investment Consulting, advised board members that the fund could stand...

International Searches Afoot at OPERF.
August 30, 2004... The Oregon Investment Council, has authorized the staff of the roughly $43 billion Oregon Public Employees' Retirement Fund (OPERF) to conduct searches for an international enhanced index manager and an international concentrated core manager....

New Hampshire Plan to Launch Searches.
August 30, 2004... The $4.5 billion New Hampshire Retirement System could be gearing up to launch searches for venture capital and international equity managers in the coming months, said Ed Theobald, chairman of the plan's retirement board. Theobald...

Texas Plan Shuffles Asset Mix.
August 30, 2004... The Texas Employees' Retirement System changed its asset allocation mix, following a recent board meeting, Mary Jane Wardlow, plan spokeswoman told IMW last week. The board decided to increase its domestic small- and mid-cap equity...

Pa. Muni Selects Consultant Finalists.
August 30, 2004... The $142 million Luzerne County Retirement Board has selected two finalists in its search for a consultant, said Steve Flood, county controller. Merrill Lynch Consultant Services Group-the board's incumbent advisor-and Wachovia Securities...

Fla. Fund Hires For Large-Cap.
August 30, 2004... The $170 million Pembroke Pines Pension Fund for Firefighters & Police Officers has hired Buckhead Capital Management and Independence Investment to oversee its new large-cap value and growth equity allocations. Buckhead Capital and...

Harris Private Has New Director.
August 30, 2004... Harris Private Bank-the $40 billion wealth-management outfit-has hired Barbara Hauser as advisor-service director, according to individuals familiar with the situation. Hauser an estate and tax-planning veteran known for minimizing tax in...

Delaware Names Brist Fixed-Income Chief.
August 30, 2004... Ryan Brist, a four-year veteran at Delaware Investments who most recently worked as a bond manager, was elevated to become Delaware's co-head of fixed-income, working with See Yeng Quek. As skipper of the Investment-Grade Core and Core-Plus...

SEC Brings Case Against Sterling Watters Group.
August 30, 2004... The Securities and Exchange Commission hit Angelo Haligiannis and his Sterling Watters Group hedge fund with an emergency enforcement action for lying to investors about performance, complete with false documents, prospectuses and marketing...

Tognarelli: Real Estate Still an Attractive Bet.
August 30, 2004... Maury Tognarelli, president and CEO of the Chicago-based real estate investment firm Heitman LLC, contends that the appeal of real estate investing has increased among institutional investors over the last few years. The asset classes' ability...

Odds & Ends.
August 30, 2004... *Gabelli Asset Management named Chief Operating Officer Douglas Jamieson, as its new president. Jamieson has worked for the $27 billion asset-management outfit since 1986. *Delaware Investments named Philip Russo CFO. Russo, a 20-year...