Investment Management Weekly articles from June 2003

Investment Management Weekly archives from June 2003

Lassie-Faire.
June 2, 2003... Optimism could be running dangerously high among a majority of European institutional investors, according to a new study by research firm Greenwich Associates. The study revealed that two-thirds of the portfolio managers surveyed planned...

Illinois Teachers' Watch Capital Guardian.
June 2, 2003... The $20 billion Illinois Teachers' Retirement System has placed Capital Guardian Trust Company on watch on approximately $395 million international equity account for performance issues. Jon Bauman, the plan's executive director, said that...

Lend Lease U.S. Biz Up for Grabs.
June 2, 2003... After undergoing months of a comprehensive review of it's real estate investments branch, Lend Lease Corporation Limited has made the definitive decision to exit the U.S.-based based business, Lend Lease Real Estate Investments (U.S. REI), said...

Assets Under Management On Decline For Money Managers.
June 2, 2003... Reported assets under management for Securities and Exchange Commission-registered investment managers declined to $20.6 trillion this year, from$22 trillion in 2002. Discretionary assets under management as of April 8, 2003 fell to $18...

St. Paul Teachers Seek Real Estate, Equity Managers.
June 2, 2003... The $800 million St. Paul Teachers' Retirement System is preparing to launch a search for its first real estate manager as early as mid-June, with searches for equity managers to follow shortly thereafter, executive director Phil Kapler said....

Bethlehem Retirement Mulls Hedge Funds, Small-Cap Equity.
June 2, 2003... The board of the $93 million City of Bethlehem Retirement System this week could decide the details of new manager searches in either hedge funds or small-cap equity, as a means of diversifying the plan's investment portfolio, and its two...

Chicago A&B Embarks On Two Searches.
June 2, 2003... The $570 million Chicago (IL) Park Employees A&B Fund is at the opening stages of two manager searches, Executive Director Joseph Fratto said. The plan has launched a search for a private equity fund-of-funds manager to oversee a new...

Strategic Investment Gains Marketing Pro.
June 2, 2003... Deborah Boedicker has joined Strategic Investment Group as Director of Marketing, sources at the firm confirmed last week. Boedicker joins the firm from UBS Global Asset Management where she was the Managing Director of U.S. Institutional...

JPMorgan Fleming Snags Prudential CIO.
June 2, 2003... Patricia Cook, the chief investment officer of Prudential Financial's fixed-income group has joined JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management as its global CIO of fixed-income-a new position. "We created the position because the fixed-income...

WGL Examining Investments.
June 2, 2003... As a possible precursor to manager searches, the $942 million WGL Holdings Inc., is conducting an asset liability study for the $713 million defined benefits plan of its subsidiary Washington Gas and Light Company, according to sources familiar...

Memphis Fickle On Fixed Income Search.
June 2, 2003... The board of the $1.8 billion Memphis City Retirement System is in a holding pattern concerning a search for a domestic index fund manager, Senior Fund Officer Joseph Lee said (See IMW, 4/28/03). Reasons include the fact that the board...

Overture Hires New CFO.
June 2, 2003... Bruce Kiley has assumed the position of Chief Financial Officer with Overture Asset Managers, LLC, the firm announced last week. He is replacing Fred Turcotte. "I'll be wearing two hats," he said. "I'll be assisting in identifying and...

Victory Acquires NewBridge Partners.
June 2, 2003... Cleveland-based value shop, Victory Capital Management, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NewBridge Partners, a growth equity firm. Rick Buoncore, president and CEO of Victory Capital, declined to discuss financial details of...

Boston Partners' Wayne Sharp: Every Bear Market Has A Bullish Lining.
June 2, 2003... Boston Partners Asset Management large-cap value equity co-portfolio manager Wayne Sharp has found a way to be somewhat bullish towards the bear market of the last several years. The trick, Sharp said, is to take advantage of a bear market to...

Day Retires From Illinois Teachers'.
June 2, 2003... John Day, assistant executive director at the $20 billion Illinois Teachers' Retirement System retired from his position, effective last month. Day served as assistant director for approximately 10 1/2 years and worked for the retirement...

LJH to Market Hedge Funds.
June 9, 2003... LJH Global Investments founder James Hedges and VP of public relations Charlotte Luer have partnered to create, LJH Financial Marketing Strategies, specializing in hedge funds. Strategic marketing counsel, investor relations, media...

WSIB Places Schroder, Dresdner, NACM on Watch.
June 9, 2003... The $50 billion Washington State Investment Board has placed Schroder Capital Management, Dresdner RCM Global Investors and Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management on watch for performance-related issues on their various non-U.S. equity accounts....

J.P. Morgan's Performance Woes Spawn Searches.
June 9, 2003... J. P. Morgan Fleming Management's ongoing performance problems have led to two significant searches by the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System, and could soon lead to another by the Nebraska Public Employees' Retirement System. State...

Ohio Police & Fire Places Lend Lease on Watch.
June 9, 2003... Lend Lease Corp.'s announcement last week that it plans to exit its U.S.-based business, combined with personnel issues, has led the $7.3 billion Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund to place Lend Lease Real Estate Investments on watch for a $147...

Chapman's Fortunes Wane at Ohio, Shelby.
June 9, 2003... Mounting problems and performance issues at Chapman Capital Management has led one of its clients to sever its relationship with the firm and another to place it on watch. The $15 billion Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation fund terminated...

Iowa Launches Two Consultant Searches.
June 9, 2003... The State Treasurer of Iowa is searching for up to two consultants to assist the $211 million Iowa Peace Officers' Retirement System and the $72 million Iowa Judicial Pension Fund with investment decisions, State Investment Officer Kim...

Invesco Ups Mencher To Product Line Head.
June 9, 2003... Invesco has promoted former director of marketing for the firm's North American institutional sales and marketing group Nick Mencher to director of the firm's global product line management. The newly created position comes at the heels of...

LASERS Adds Two Hedge Fund Managers.
June 9, 2003... The $5.6 billion Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System has hired K2 Advisors and Pacific Alternative Asset Management to each manage $55 million hedge fund-of-funds mandates, LASERS' CFO Bobby Beale said. The firms beat out...

Mid-Sized Funds Battle Pension Underfunding.
June 9, 2003... Mid-size corporate firms are having to adjust their business plans-hindering new initiatives and causing cash flow problems-in an effort to curtail the damage caused by their under-funded pension funds, according to a recent SEI Investments...

SMAs Help Center Portfolios, Experts Say.
June 9, 2003... While separately managed accounts (SMAs) remain primarily the domain of high-net-worth individuals, their ability to navigate through certain asset classes and avoid areas of taxation matches them perfectly with less flexible investment...

Alternative Investors Bank on Timber.
June 9, 2003... Investing in alternative assets has been on the rise for pension funds and endowments as traditional investment vehicles, such as equities, are performing poorly. Now, hedge funds, private equity and other assets that were once considered risky...

Money Managers Exchange Ideas.
June 9, 2003... Topics ranging from corporate governance and investor responsibility to differing investment styles were each in the spotlight during a recent meeting of money managers in New York City. Kicking off the Spring 2003 Money Manager Press...

Jain: International Investment Provides Perils as well as Profits.
June 9, 2003... While undervalued international equities may look like comparative bargains, prospective buyers should keep two things in mind: Watch out for Japan, and expect the dollar to stay weak for some time to come, Vontobel Asset Management Managing...

Canadian Rates Fall.
June 16, 2003... Commission rates are dropping for equity investors at Canadian institutions, according to new research by Greenwich Associates. In Canadian currency, the average commission rate for agency trades fell to 4.5 cents per share in 2003, from...

CalPERS Board Will Likely Shrink Private Equity.
June 16, 2003... As the state's fiscal year draws to a close, the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is mapping out an investment strategy to carry it through the next fiscal year. When the pension fund's investment committee meets in...

Middlesex County Eyes Dual Searches.
June 16, 2003... The $525 million Middlesex County Retirement System has initiated searches for an international smid-cap manager and a MBS fixed-income manager. Details of the searches were scant as calls to Nancy O'Neil, the plan's investment coordinator...

Plan Sponsors Mull DB Funding Crisis.
June 16, 2003... Maintaining the funding status of a defined-benefit (DB) plan while accurately judging return assumptions was the subject of an industry roundtable of plan sponsors last week at the Second Annual Big Apple Institutional Investor Conference in...

PRIM Board Fights VC, Private Equity Probe.
June 16, 2003... The $28 billion state of Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board is actively objecting to the requests made by the state Attorney General Thomas Reilly that the board release information on the returns of its venture capital...

Falmouth Looks For Growth Manager.
June 16, 2003... The $50 million Falmouth Retirement System has initiated a search for a manager to oversee a $5.5 million large-cap growth account. Details of the search could not be determined as calls to Margaret Correllus, the plan's senior fund...

Northern Trust Loses Out in Alaska.
June 16, 2003... The $26 billion Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. has terminated Northern Trust Corp. from a $4 billion passive index portfolio, APFC Chief Investment Officer Allan Moore said. The hefty contract began to slip away from Northern Trust last...

San Joaquin Selects REIT Finalists.
June 16, 2003... The $1.2 billion San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement System has selected five finalists-Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Duff & Phelps Investment Management, Invesco, J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management, and Urdang & Associates Real...

Alaska State Picks Real Estate Finalists.
June 16, 2003... The $16 billion Alaska State Pension Investment Board has selected four finalists in a search for a core real estate manager, Alaska State Chief Investment Officer Gary Bader said. The finalists are Clarion Partners, J.P. Morgan Fleming...

Oakland Police & Fire Hires Brown Capital.
June 16, 2003... After a lengthy search process, the $718 million Oakland Police & Fire Retirement System has hired Brown Capital Management to oversee a $14 million mid-cap growth mandate, Assistant to the Director of Pensions Jim Brown said. The search...

Sargen to Steer Fort Washington.
June 16, 2003... Nicholas Sargen has taken the reins at Fort Washington Investment Advisors as the new chief investment officer, overseeing all of the firm's assets under management, Fort Washington President Bill Ledwin said. With his arrival, Sargen...

San Francisco Plan Keeps Towers Perrin.
June 16, 2003... The board of the $12 billion San Francisco City & County Employees' Retirement System has retained Towers Perrin to continue on as the plan's consulting actuary, San Francisco City Executive Director Clare Murphy said. From an initial list...

Arrow Adds McDonald To Client Services.
June 16, 2003... Brendan McDonald has joined the sales and client service team of Arrow Partners Inc., a third-party investment-marketing firm that works as a sales outsource vehicle for money managers McDonald will focus on fortifying Arrow's sub-advisory...

San Joaquin Poised for More Real Estate.
June 16, 2003... The San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement System could begin a search for a private real estate manager this fall, San Joaquin Senior Fund Officer Robert Palmer said. The private real estate search hinges on the final size of a pending...

Big Apple Takes On Pension Defaults.
June 16, 2003... The increasing strain from pension defaults being felt by the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. (PBGC) was the topic of a keynote address by PBGC Executive Director Steven Kandarian at the second annual Big Apple Institutional Investing Summit....

Choksi: Outsourcing Provides More Bang For Buck.
June 16, 2003... There is no arguing that the markets haven't been in the healthiest of conditions. Dips and dives in equity and bond holdings, coupled with political instability have all lead to quarterly earnings slipping and in some cases, downsizing at...

At Press Time.
June 23, 2003... The Conference Board last week said the Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators in May finally pointed to a recovery almost a year and a half after the end of the recession. The index increased 1% in May, after a 0.1% rise in April, and...

Ohio Police & Fire Launches Real Estate Search.
June 23, 2003... The $7.3 billion Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund has launched a search for a real estate manager that could replace Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, Ohio spokeswoman Amy Hoiland said. Lend Lease was recently placed on watch by the plan...

Milwaukee Puts U.S. Bancorp on Watch.
June 23, 2003... The $1.4 billion Milwaukee County Employees' Retirement System has placed U.S. Bancorp Asset Management on watch due to internal changes, Board Secretary Matt James said. The firm handles a mid-cap growth equity account for the Milwaukee...

SEC: Corporate Funds' Assumptions Are Unrealistic.
June 23, 2003... Almost half of the nation's 100 largest corporate pension funds are continuing to make aggressive asset performance assumptions, even as investment markets batter their portfolios, according to recent analysis from benefit consultant Milliman...

Seattle Launches Asset Study.
June 23, 2003... Seattle City Employees' Retirement System is embarking on an asset allocation study, which could result in manager searches. The study is the first order of business for incumbent consultant Wurts & Associates, which just completed a...

San Jose Plan Eyes Private Equity.
June 23, 2003... The Federated City Employees' Retirement System of San Jose-as a means of diversifying its $1.2 billion in assets-is gearing up to make its first foray into the private equity asset class with a search for a private equity fund-of-funds...

St. Paul Teachers Cautious On Real Estate.
June 23, 2003... The $740 million St. Paul Minnesota Teachers' Retirement System has applied brakes to its pending search for a real-estate manager to oversee approximately $60 million, St. Paul Executive Director Phil Kapler said. As a first-time investor...

KPERS Takes Two Off Watch List.
June 23, 2003... The $8 billion Kansas Public Employees' Retirement System has taken removed Loomis Sayles & Co. and Morgan Stanley Asset Management from its watch list, KPERS Deputy Chief Investment Officer Scott Peppard said. KPERS placed the Loomis on a...

Nevada PERS Hires Mellon Capital.
June 23, 2003... The $13 billion Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada has selected Mellon Capital Management to oversee a $350 million Europe, Australasia and Far East (EAFE) international equity account, the plan's Assistant Investment Officer Ken...

IPERS Hires Segal as Consultant.
June 23, 2003... The benefits advisory committee of the $15 billion Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System has selected Segal Co. as the committee's consultant, IPERS Chief Benefits Officer Greg Cusack said. The three-year tenure awarded to Segal is a...

Tennessee Re-Hires Townsend Group.
June 23, 2003... The $22 billion State of Tennessee Treasury Department has re-hired incumbent real estate consultant The Townsend Group after an open bid process that attracted zero challengers for the position, STTD Senior Portfolio Manager Roy Wellington...

Sawgrass Taps Greco for Client Work.
June 23, 2003... Sawgrass Asset Management, in an effort to expand its investment team and boost its $1.1 billion in assets under management, has hired Christopher Greco as its new senior institutional sales executive. Greco, who was most recently the VP of...

Nevada Tuition Trust Rehires Advisor.
June 23, 2003... Setting the stage for a number of new searches, the $37 million Nevada Higher Education Tuition Trust Fund has re-hired incumbent investment advisor Gif Advisors, Nevada Deputy Treasurer Janice Wright said. Back at its old desk, Gif will...

San Diego Fund Seeks CFO.
June 23, 2003... The $4 billion San Diego County Employees' Retirement Association is seeking a new CFO, SDCERA Personnel Attorney Director Janet Fisher said last week. Leslie Browder previously held the position. Fisher declined to give specific details...

Experts Question Sarbanes-Oxley.
June 23, 2003... The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 will do little to stamp out corporate looters and may even hurt investment returns over the long run, according to market experts at the recent Big Apple Institutional Investing Summit in New York. The...

Atlantic Asset's Hunt: Fixed-Income Shouldn't Be Idle.
June 23, 2003... Creative thinking is key when it comes to facing the potential pitfalls of managing fixed-income investments and cash surpluses in the current economic environment, Atlantic Asset Management Managing Director Elaine Hunt said. She said...

Chapman Charged With Fraud.
June 30, 2003... Nathan Chapman, head of Chapman Capital Management and former money manager for the Maryland State Retirement & Pension System, was indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and...

Alaska State Plans Private Equity Search.
June 30, 2003... The $16 billion Alaska State Pension Investment Board is preparing to search for private equity managers to oversee approximately $480 million, Alaska State Senior Investment Officer for Real Estate and Private Equity Michael Oliver said. ...

Canadian Railway Mulls More Outsourcing.
June 30, 2003... The roughly USD3.7 billion Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) will discuss whether it will outsource its USD445 million in real estate and mortgage-backed investments and approximately USD1.3 billion in foreign equity-a move that follows the recent...

Georgia's Bravest Plot Equity Searches.
June 30, 2003... The $400 million Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund is positioned to launch searches for equity managers this fall as the plan reassesses the makeup of its portfolio, Georgia Fire Senior Fund Officer Jim Meynard said. With the assistance...

PERAC Investigates Middlesex Loss.
June 30, 2003... The Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Administra-tion Commission (PERAC) has launched a soup-to-nuts investigation into the loss of approximately $35 million of a currency overlay strategy managed by Cambridge Financial Management (CFM)...

Sterling Seeks Hedge Fund, Real Estate.
June 30, 2003... The $90 million Sterling Heights General E.R.S. is launching a search for a hedge-fund manager to oversee a mandate of approximately $4 million, as first reported on IMW's, Web site, imweekly.com (6/24//03). Sterling Heights Pension...

Washington State Wrangles Consultants.
June 30, 2003... The $54 billion Washington State Investment Board is in search of an updated pool of consultants in an effort to continue its policy of enlisting public investment consultants on a per-job basis, WSIB spokeswoman Liz Mendizabal said. The...

Illinois Drops Global Allocation.
June 30, 2003... In an effort to increase its exposure to international equity, the $14 billion Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund has eleminated its approximately $453 million allocation to global equity. Walter Koziol, the plan's director of investments,...

Missouri State Hires Oaktree Capital.
June 30, 2003... The $5.2 billion Missouri State Employees' Retirement System has selected Oaktree Capital Manage-ment to oversee a $50 million active real-estate account, Oaktree spokeswoman Meg Cline said. Oaktree, the plan's first external real-estate...

Client Service VP Leaves Wilshire.
June 30, 2003... Wilshire Associates VP of Client Services Vache Mahseredjian, has left the firm. Mahseredjian, who had been with Wilshire for just under a year, left the firm at the beginning of the month "by mutual agreement," according to a letter to...

Ohio Police & Fire Hires New CFO.
June 30, 2003... The $7.3 billion Ohio Police & Fire Retirement System has hired Stewart Smith as its new chief financial officer, replacing Jim Martin who left the fund in April. Smith was hired on June 16 after a nationwide search, Ohio spokeswoman Amy...

Boutique Firm Bolsters Sales, Marketing Team.
June 30, 2003... As part of an ongoing initiative to boost its business efforts, core equity manager Affinity Investment Advisors has hired John Quintanar as VP of sales and marketing. In this newly created position, Quintanar will focus on working with...

Third Party Firm To Expand Coverage.
June 30, 2003... Hinsdale, Ill.-based third-party marketing firm Genesis Marketing Group is gearing up to expand its institutional sales front, particularly in the Taft-Hartley area, Genesis President Ron Oldenkamp said. "We have some money managers in the...

Merrill Hires Consulting Pro.
June 30, 2003... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has hired Peter Schmole as its new VP of West Coast Consultant Relations. Schmole will report to Neal Howe, managing director and head of the Consultant Relations Group at MLIM. Schmole, who joined the...

Morgan Stanley's Behler Banks on Value.
June 30, 2003... Rick Behler, head of value investing for U.S equities at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, sees a pattern of opportunity in the historic potential for discounted equities to outperform the S&P 500 in a post-bubble market. According to...

Investors Mull Research Costs, Benefits.
June 30, 2003... The cost of Wall Street investment research versus its value has come under scrutiny from a number of industry professionals. At issue are concerns over ways to consolidate investment research to save money, as well as the future of Wall Street...