Investment Management Weekly articles from January 2005

Investment Management Weekly archives from January 2005

Hasta La Vista, Baby?'.
January 10, 2005... Terminator Endorses CalPERS, CalSTRS Elimination Plan The $177 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the $115 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) could be no more if Governor Arnold...

Ohio 911 Drops One, Plans New Searches.
January 10, 2005... The $9.5 billion Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund has launched several new searches, one of which has ousted an incumbent manager, confirmed David Graham, a spokesman for the fund. Graham explained that the plan decided to terminate Fidelity...

Calif. Plan Eyes Fidelity, Plots Consultant RFP.
January 10, 2005... The board of the $1.2 billion Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System has placed Fidelity Management on watch, and will consider initiating a consultant search in the coming months. Oscar Peters, the plan's retirement...

Investors In Holding Pattern, Now Relieved.
January 10, 2005... The stock market remained mired in a trading range during the first 10 months of 2004 and then broke into a run after the U.S. presidential election. In the first 10 months, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was stuck in a trading range between...

Waltham Launches Mid-Cap Search.
January 10, 2005... The $130 million Waltham Contributory Retirement Plan has issued RFPs for a manager to oversee a $9 million mid-cap growth account. Details of the search were scant, as calls to Joe Juppe, executive director of the Mass.-based plan did not...

Mass. Plan On Hunt For Small-Cap Mgr.
January 10, 2005... The Woburn Retirement System has launched a search for a small-cap growth manager to oversee a $4.5 million account. Calls to Maureen Marcucci, retirement administrator for the $84 million plan, were referred to Bart Earley, the plan's...

Mass. Fund Launches EAFE Search.
January 10, 2005... The $500 million Cambridge Retirement Board is searching for an EAFE Index manager. According to the document obtained by IMW last week, the board is searching for a manager to handle a $28 million passively managed or enhanced account....

Ohio Highway Patrol To Rebalance Fund.
January 10, 2005... The board of the Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System has made plans to rebalance its $700 million portfolio in the coming weeks, a move that could consolidate accounts, or reduce the number of managers overseeing funds for the plan. Dick...

Ohio SERS Issues Small-Cap Growth RFI.
January 10, 2005... The $8.6 billion School Employees' Retirement System of Ohio has issued an RFI for a manager to oversee a small-cap growth account valued at between $30-60 million. Julie Graham-Price, SERS spokeswoman, said that that the issuance of the...

Commonfund Hunts for Sales Pro.
January 10, 2005... Commonfund-the investment manager to foundations and endowments alike-has begun a search for a managing director to oversee client service and sales for the firm's current and prospective clients and also provide rationale for investment...

Wells Fargo Adds To Sales Team.
January 10, 2005... In the wake of Wells Fargo & Company's acquisition of the Strong Financial Retirement Plan Services business, Wells Fargo Institutional Trust Services has hired Thomas Nolte, Jeffrey Bear, David Hill, Matthew Tepe and Philip Wellde to its sales...

Financial Services Firm Touts "Disease-Centric" Investing.
January 10, 2005... As the aging baby boomer generation begins its quest to live healthier and longer lives, healthcare spending on the verge of soaring to new heights, a phenomenon that many industry observers believe will become the biggest challenge facing the...

Hedge Fund Pro Forecasts Correction In 2005.
January 10, 2005... The low-volatility trading range through last October made 2004 a potentially frustrating year for all investors, said Keenan Hauke, manager at the Indiana-based hedge fund firm, Samex Capital. "By the time the market bottomed in August and...

2004 Year In Review.
January 10, 2005... In 2004, many public pension funds remained underfunded, especially mature ones in which benefits exceeded contributions. A combination of factors led to this situation. During the bull market of the late 1990s when the market value of pension...

-ST_BY-.
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Looking Back and Moving Forward.
January 10, 2005... The year 2004 was somewhat of a breakout year among corporate and foundation and endowment sponsors. Numerous corporate plans were either over, or well funded in the years leading up to 2000. However, the "perfect storm" of three consecutive...

2004 Year In Review.
January 10, 2005... January 19 The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation predicted a dismal outlook for pension funds in the upcoming years. The organization reported a whopping deficit of $11.2 billion, an increase from original reports in August 2003 of $8.8...

Market Defies Expectations in 2004.
January 10, 2005... If the stock market had finished 2004 down, it would have been understandable. Oil prices, the trade deficit and the budget deficit were all up in 2004. The dollar was weaker than mid-morning coffee. The war in Iraq went badly for most of...

People 2004.
January 10, 2005... New Digs David Hogan, former director of marketing at Bradford & Marzec, joined Transamerica Investment as its new VP of institutional fixed-income sales. James Conzelman, former head of client services at JPMorgan Fleming Asset...

Quotables.
January 10, 2005... The process and flow is what drives the firm. We aren't a bunch of star managers that have an analyst team. We are a bunch of analysts that happen to be managers." -Francisco Alzuru, managing director, Hansberger Global Investors, on...

Mercer to Close Transition and Recapture Unit.
January 17, 2005... The commission recapture and transition management units of Mercer Investment Consulting will close by March 31, according to published reports. The unit-Mercer Transition and Recapture Services-was established in the 1997 as an operating...

LACERS Issues S&P, Governance RFIs.
January 17, 2005... The $8.3 billion Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System has issued an RFI for a manager to oversee a $501 million S&P 500 index account and another for one or more firms to oversee corporate governance investments. Rod June,...

Orange County Terminates Value Manager.
January 17, 2005... The roughly $5 billion Orange County Employees' Retirement System has terminated Delaware Investments from a large-cap value account, estimated at $106 million. Details of the termination-and subsequent actions-could not be ascertained as...

Fiduciaries Tout Emerging Managers: Wall Street Coalition Conference Continues Rally.
January 17, 2005... Continuing an ongoing dialogue on the usage of emerging and minority-owned financial service firms, fiduciaries from several state and municipal pension funds discussed the advantages of implementing minority programs at their respective...

RCM SubsidiarySnags Bradford & Marzec Pro.
January 17, 2005... Caywood-Scholl Capital Manage- ment, the high yield fixed-income subsidiary of RCM, has hired Tim Stidham, former director of marketing at Bradford & Marzec, as its first dedicated sales executive. "We are thrilled to have someone as...

Mass. Muni Plan Launches Search.
January 17, 2005... The $89 million Westfield Contributory Retirement System has begun a search for a manager to replace State Street Research, which currently oversees a total of $45 million in a large-cap growth portfolio and a core-plus fixed-income account....

Medford Searches for High Yield Manager.
January 17, 2005... The $125 million City of Medford Contributory Retirement System is searching for a fixed-income manager to oversee a $6 million high yield portfolio. According to a document obtained by IMW, the plan will be accepting proposals from firms...

Luzerne Watches ICM, Terminates Others.
January 17, 2005... The $180 million Luzerne County Retirement Board has terminated two small-cap money managers and may move to eliminate a third in the coming months, said Glynis Koehler, deputy controller at the fund. Emerald Advisors and Westcap Advisors,...

Pa. PSERS Considers Consultant RFP.
January 17, 2005... The $47.5 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System will consider issuing an RFP for a real estate consultant at its next board meeting on Jan. 28, according to a spokeswoman. Russell Investment Group has served as the...

San Diego Extends Manager's Watch.
January 17, 2005... The $3.1 billion San Diego City Employees Retirement System has extended the watch list status of Wall Street Associates, said Doug McCalla, CIO. The manager of $61 million of micro-cap growth equity for the pension fund has been on the...

Florida Treasury Doles Out Excess Capital.
January 17, 2005... The Florida State Treasury has hired four new investment firms to manage an aggregate total of $200 million of excess capital, said Bruce Gillander, director, division of the Treasury. In December, the Treasury hired Dwight Asset...

Colo. Plan Hires For Hedge Fund of Funds.
January 17, 2005... The $160 million Arapahoe County Retirement System has hired Tremont Advisors to oversee a $10 million hedge fund-of-funds account. Adrian Ciazza, county treasurer, said that funding for the new account was garnered from the plan's...

Illinois Teachers Close To Hire Manager.
January 17, 2005... In mid-February, the board of the $31 billion Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois will meet with finalists for two mandates, said Jon Bauman, executive director of the pension fund. The plan's search for an enhanced...

Sources: HSBC Wealth Pro Was Sacked.
January 17, 2005... Suzanne Schutte, the senior VP and head of domestic wealth management sales at HSBC Private Bank, was said to have been terminated from the firm, according to sources familiar with the situation. Schutte was reported to have left the firm...

PENN Capital Promotes Four.
January 17, 2005... The Cherry Hill, NJ-based PENN Capital Management has promoted four of its staff members. Martin Smith, who covers the communication, cable and media industries, has been promoted to senior portfolio manager. J. Paulo Silva and Kevin...

Nelson Receives Promotion.
January 17, 2005... Sarofim Realty Advisors-a subsidiary of Fayez Sarofim & Co.-has promoted Kim Nelson to VP of the firm's institutional asset management division. Prior to her appointment, Nelson served as the director of real estate operations at the...

Fort Washington Unrolls Small-Cap Growth Product.
January 17, 2005... Months after hiring a team of growth managers from Banc One Investment Advisors, Fort Washington Investment Advisors has launched a small-cap growth initiative. Last October, Fort Washington hired VP and Managing Director Richard Jandrain,...

Calyx Offers Offshore Hedge Fund.
January 17, 2005... New York-based hedge fund firm, Calyx Financial has launched an offshore hedge fund offering Calamos Investments' U.S. equity strategy. The launch is part of Calyx's strategy to promote U.S. managers to global markets, said Stephanie Mumford...

Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Eyes Growing Corporate Cash.
January 17, 2005... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) has identified growing corporate cash balances as a major institutional business trend and is striving to manage more of that excess cash as it positions its products for 2005. The investment...

Investment Adviser Pay-To-Play May Have Broader Reach.
January 17, 2005... The Securities and Exchange Commission's examinations of registered investment advisers located across the country show some of the firms appear to be giving gifts and making political contributions to state and local governmental advisory...

Odds & Ends.
January 17, 2005... *The Retirement Systems of Alabama, has settled its $16.2 million lawsuit against Bear Stearns. The fund alleged Bear Stearns was aware of financial concerns at WorldCom when the bank sold bonds to the fund in October 2001. Bear Stearns claimed...

Bayou Muni Police Fund to Hire Mouthpiece.
January 24, 2005... The $1.3 billion Louisiana Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System (LaMPERS) board of trustees has reportedly voted to hire a public relations specialist in an effort to exercise damage control. The decision stems from negative press...

Ventura County Ponders Global Equity.
January 24, 2005... The $2.4 billion Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association is considering establishing a 2% to 6% allocation to global equity investments. Van Perris, retirement administrator, said that the board was still in very preliminary...

NYC To Ramp Up Investment Staff.
January 24, 2005... The New York City Office of the Comptroller will be boosting the staff for the city's five retirement systems to almost double the current size, said an official at the agency who declined to be named. "They're looking to double the staff...

Hevesi Proposes Prudent Investor Standard.
January 24, 2005... New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi has proposed to the State Legislature and Governor George Pataki the elimination of the current investment limits for the $119 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, claiming the limits have cost...

Austin Police Fund Drops Consultant Role.
January 24, 2005... The $262 million City of Austin Police Retirement Fund has amicably severed its ties with Monroe Vos Consulting Group, Inc. in what was called, a "mutual parting of ways." "Their contract was up and they reviewed their services and felt...

Chicago Prompts Minority Search.
January 24, 2005... The board of the $10.3 billion Public School Teachers' Pension & Retirement Fund of Chicago has approved a $50 million allocation to real estate and will hire a minority, or women-owned investment management firm to oversee the mandate in the...

LA Water & Power Plan Re-Hires PCA.
January 24, 2005... The board of the $6 billion Los Angeles Department of Water & Power Employees' Retirement Plan has re-hired Pension Consulting Alliance as its investment consultant. Sangeeta Bhatia, assistant retirement plan manager, said that the...

Mass. Plan Drops Large-Cap Manager.
January 24, 2005... The $27 million Swampscott Retirement Board is searching for a domestic equity manager following the unseating of incumbent, Fox Asset Management, said Retirement Administrator Richard DiTesa. "The board voted to replace Fox for performance...

Natick Searches for Large-Cap Manager.
January 24, 2005... The $67 million Natick Retirement Board has launched a search for a large-cap value equity manager, said Kathleen Bacon, director of the fund. Bacon referred all inquiries regarding the $14 million search to the plan's consultant, Kevin...

Vermont Banks Win State Investments.
January 24, 2005... As part of Vermont State Treasurer Jeb Spaulding's initiative to invest part of the state's short-term funds within the state, five banks have received a total of $5 million in investments. Banknorth, Chittenden Trust Company, First...

El Paso Names Equity Finalists.
January 24, 2005... The $175 million El Paso County Retirement Plan has identified short-listed firms for its value and growth manager searches, said Dave Klemmer, plan administrator. On Feb.15, the board of the Colorado plan will interview Byram Capital...

Hedge Funds Finish Another Positive Year.
January 24, 2005... Hedge funds, on average, scored positive returns in December, finishing a solid year, according to Van Hedge Fund Advisors International. The Van Global Hedge Fund Index gained a net 1.5% in December and 7.7% overall for 2004. The index,...

Baring Asset Management: Trends In Institutional Investing.
January 24, 2005... Pension funds are seeking alpha by increasing their exposure to international investments and investing in enhanced index products, noted Hayes Miller, senior VP of global equities at Baring Asset Management. "The U.S. market outperformed...

Quantum's Dayal Brings India To U.S. Shores.
January 24, 2005... Ajit Dayal, founder of India-based Quantum Advisors, contends that there are great investment opportunities to be had by U.S. institutional plan sponsors in India. With the advent of economic reforms in 1985, India has emerged as one of...

Massachusetts Plan Benefits From Shift To Alternatives.
January 24, 2005... Massachusetts State Treasurer Timothy Cahill expects the $35 billion Massachusetts Pensions Reserve Investment Management (PRIM) to achieve a minimum 8.25% return in 2005 by building assets and continuing to follow the plan's diversified...

Odds & Ends.
January 24, 2005... *A financial audit of the North Carolina Treasurer's office by State Auditor Ralph Campbell discovered retiree benefit errors ranging from underpayments of $83 to overpayments of $217, according to the audit report. The benefit calculation...

Mercer Head Steps Down.
January 31, 2005... Peter Costers retirement announcement last week, set off a slew of changes at Mercer. Coster, who had been president of Mercer, will soon end his 40-year run at firm. Going forward, the company will be split into separate business areas....

So. Carolina Drops Large-Cap Value Manager.
January 31, 2005... The $24.5 billion South Carolina Retirement System has terminated International Capital Corp. (ICAP) from a roughly $700 million large-cap value account, and has initiated a search for the firm's replacement. Brian Collett, an investment...

Big Apple to Talk About Hedge Funds in Spring.
January 31, 2005... The trustees of the $88 billion New York City Retirement System, which includes the New York City Employees' Retirement System; the Teachers' Retirement System; the Police Pension Fund; the Fire Department Pension Fund; and the Board of...

Wilshire Drops Three Hedge Fund Pros, Others: Sources Speculate on Closure of Hedge Funds Group.
January 31, 2005... Mike Napoli, Jr., senior managing director at Wilshire Associates and head of the firm's Funds Management Division, along with Thomas Kuntz, and Daniel Johnedis, managing director and VP, respectively, of the Division, were all released from...

Dallas 911 Considers Global Real Estate.
January 31, 2005... The investment staff of the $2.4 billion Dallas Police & Fire Pension System is considering investing in global real estate securities, said Richard Tettamant, administrator of the plan. Tettamant said that the investment staff is pondering...

Phoenix ERS Seeks New Advisor.
January 31, 2005... The $1.3 billion City of Phoenix Employees' Retirement System (COPERS) will launch a search for an investment consultant, a move that could replace incumbent Becker, Burke Associates. Further details regarding the search could not be...

SWIB Searches for Russell Replacement.
January 31, 2005... The $65 billion State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) has issued RFPs for a real estate consultant, making it the latest plan to initiate a search to replace Russell Investment Group. The firm made a strategic decision to limit its...

Texas Employees' to Dip Into REITs.
January 31, 2005... The $21 billion Employees' Retirement System of Texas will invest up to 1% of its portfolio in real estate investment trusts (REITs), said spokeswoman Mary-Jane Wardlow. The plan's board approved the allocation to REITs last December after...

Sirach Closes Doors; What About Clients?
January 31, 2005... Fixed-income money manager Sirach Capital-a subsidiary of Old Mutual-ceased its operations after 23 years in business last December. However, the fate of the firm's remaining clients remain a mystery. The Seattle-based company was...

Guns & Hoses Plan Trims Int'l Equity Roster.
January 31, 2005... The $100 million Fort Lauderdale Police and Fire Pension Fund has changed the investment style of its international portfolio, which has resulted in the termination of one manager, said Lynn Wenguer, retirement administrator. "We wanted to...

San Joaquin Chooses Currency Managers.
January 31, 2005... The San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement Association has chosen Bridgewater Associates, Barclays Global Investors and FX Concepts as its active currency overlay managers, each overseeing $125 million, said Bob Palmer, plan administrator....

Canada Invests In Infrastructure Abroad.
January 31, 2005... The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has invested C$470 million in European and British infrastructure while lamenting the lack of available similar investment opportunities in Canada. The board, an investment corporation managed...

Ventura Names Global Manager Finalists.
January 31, 2005... The $2.4 billion Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association has named Wellington Management Company and Grantham, Mayo & Van Otterloo as finalists in its global equity manager search to fulfill the plan's 2% to 6% allocation to the asset...

INVESCO Names Taft-Hartley Leader.
January 31, 2005... INVESCO North America has named Ben Utt has the team leader of its Taft-Hartley group, which manages over $10 billion for clients. Utt replaces Jonathan Siegel, who left the firm last year to join Lazard Asset Management, said Bill Hensel,...

NJ Hires Real Estate Consultant.
January 31, 2005... The New Jersey State Investment Council has hired The Townsend Group as its first real estate consultant, said Tom Vincz, a spokesman at the New Jersey Treasury. The $400,000 contract is set for three years, he said. The move is part of...

Think Before Jumping Into Hedge Funds, Says Consultant.
January 31, 2005... Several trends indicating that hedge funds are shifting from the alternative asset class toward the mainstream, also suggest that institutional investors should weigh the costs of investing in hedge funds, according to a recent Greenwich...

Babson's James Touts the Benefits of Small-Cap.
January 31, 2005... Lance James, head of the small-cap value team at Babson Capital Management-a subsidiary of Mass- Mutual Life Insurance Company-contends that while different investment styles and market cap sectors cycle in and out of favor over time, small-cap...

Odds & Ends.
January 31, 2005... *Medon Michaelides has joined the alternative investment team of PRS Group as director of U.S. institutional sales. He joins from hedge fund-of-funds manager Collins Capital Advisors, Inc. , where he was the director of marketing and client...