Investment Management Weekly articles from March 2003

Investment Management Weekly archives from March 2003

Threat down, stocks up. (At Press Time).
March 3, 2003... Stock got a boost last week on news the U.S. plans to lower its terror threat level to yellow, from orange, or heightened alert. At closing Thursday, the Dow had risen 78 points to end at 7884, the Nasdaq gained 20 points to 1323, and the...

Alaska Fund launches $4b search.
March 3, 2003... The $26 billion Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. has initiated a search for a $4 billion passive index portfolio manager, APFC Chief Investment Officer Allan Moore said. APFC consultant Callan Associates is conducting the search, which is...

Mosers eyes private equity placements.
March 3, 2003... The approximately $5 billion Missouri State Employees' Retirement System is said to be in the proccess of considering an allocation to private equity sometime this year, according to an industry insider familiar with the plan. The source...

Tulare considers multiple searches.
March 3, 2003... The Tulare County Employees' Retirement Association is considering adding new mandates to its $625 million portfolio. Tulare Retirement Administrator Dave Kehler said that the plan would consider allocating approximately $140 million to an...

Kansas city cops eye new investments. (General News).
March 3, 2003... The $620 million Kansas City Police Employees' Retirement System could seek new investment opportunities as a result of the plan's recently completed asset allocation study. James Pyle, the plan's pension manager declined to specify the...

San Bernardino to conduct study. (General News).
March 3, 2003... The San Bernardino County Employees' Retirement Association, following the hire of a new general consultant, will launch a comprehensive asset liability study of its $3 billion portfolio. "We plan to revisit the private equity asset class...

San Bernardino closes in on new consultant. (General News).
March 3, 2003... The investment committee of the $3 billion San Bernardino County Employees' Retirement Association has arrived at a list of finalists for the consultant position left vacant by the termination of Ennis, Knupp & Associates, said Tim Barrett, the...

Michigan plan names finalists. (General News).
March 3, 2003... The $3.5 billion Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Michigan has selected four finalists in its search for a $50 million active mid-cap fund manager, a plan representative said. Dupont Capital Management, Chase Investment Council,...

Rockefeller cans ops chief, others. (General News).
March 3, 2003... The $3.4 billion Rockefeller & Co.--the investment management firm for wealthy families, foundations, and non-profit organizations-has released David Sarns from his position as chief operating officer of the firm, according to a number of...

Staff changes spook Neuberger clients. (General News).
March 3, 2003... The retirement of Neuberger Berman's Chief Investment Officer, Michael Kassen, and the integration of Northern Trust's growth equity team has caused at least one plan to terminate the firm and led two others to put the manager on watch. In...

NASP honors Sparkes. (General News).
March 3, 2003... The National Association of Securities Professionals' New York chapter (NASP) honored Horatio Sparkes, New York City's deputy comptroller of pensions and trustee of the New York City Employees' Retirement System, as one of its newest inductees...

Massachusetts Muni seeks administrator. (General News).
March 3, 2003... The $32 million Greenfield Retirement System is actively seeking a retirement board administrator. Marilyn Matysiewicz, the plan's incumbent administrator officially retired from the plan at the end of last year. She will stay on at the fund...

Pension may pay as states suffer shortfalls. (Industry at a Glance).
March 3, 2003... With a majority of state budgets falling further into the red, a growing number of lawmakers are looking for creative ways to tap pension funds for financial relief. In the first two months of 2002 alone, state budget shortfalls increased...

Turner's Kneely: small is mostly beautiful. (Investment Manager Profile).
March 3, 2003... Turner Investment Partners President and Co-founder Stephen Kneely sees both the upside and the downside of being a smaller, employee-owned investment firm. With little more than 40 staff members, the Berwyn, Pa.-based firm benefits from...

Weekly Leads.
March 3, 2003... Weekly Leads Investment Management Weekly's Weekly Leads includes search and hire activity for the week ending February 27. The IMW staff believes the information, which was gathered from a variety of sources, to be reliable, but...

Finito.
March 3, 2003... Finito Plan Sponsor Fund Size Mandate Bethlehem RS, 77 U.s. Equity/ Pa. All-Cap Growth Bethlehem RS, 77...

Update.
March 3, 2003... Update Plan Sponsor Fund Size Mandate Size Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. 26,000 U.S. Fixed Income 300 to 400 Municipal ERS of Michigan 3,500 U.S. Equity/Mid Cap 50 ...

Search Overview.
March 3, 2003... Search Overview Plan Sponsor Mandate Size Alameda County ERS Real Estate 150 Alaska State Pension Real Estate/ Core 325 Investment Board...

Calender.
March 3, 2003... The staff at IMW has gathered the following items from a variety of sources. The IMW staff believes the information in this section to be reliable, but all information should be confirmed with the various organizations. April 30-May 2: The...

Correction/Clarification.
March 3, 2003... The Merced County Employees' Retirement System hired Mellon Capital Management to oversee the $32 million Russell 1000 Growth and Value strategies, not Standish Mellon Asset Management as mentioned in the 2/24/03 issue of IMW.

Comerica Bank forecast on Recession. (At Press Time).
March 10, 2003... The likelihood of a U.S. recession hit 11% for the seventh month in a row in Feb., according to Comerica Bank's National Recession Watch Index. The index has not exceeded 11% probability since leaping to 17% in July 2001. Successive index...

L.A. Fire & Police nears $560m int'l search.
March 10, 2003... The $11 billion Los Angeles Fire & Police Pension is bracing to begin a search for international equity managers that could equal a combined mandate of approximately $560 million, LAFPP Chief Investment Officer Tom Lopez said. Two of the...

LACERA to search for core bond manager. (Search Alert).
March 10, 2003... The $27 billion Los Angeles County Employees' Retirement Association will issue requests for proposal (RFPs) for a core fixed-income manager to oversee approximately $500 million. The search replaces American Express Asset Management, which...

Memphis plan to seek index manager.
March 10, 2003... The $1.8 billion Memphis City Retirement System is planning a search for a domestic index fund manager during the second quarter of 2003, plan representative Sam Johnson said. The exact type of index account has yet to be determined, but it...

Missouri plan watches Wellington. (General News).
March 10, 2003... The $1.3 billion Missouri Highway Transportation Employees & Highway Patrol Retirement System has placed Wellington Management Co. on watch for underperformance in its $120 million large-cap value account. Norm Robinson, the plan's...

East Bay reviews two equity managers. (General News).
March 10, 2003... The $665 million East Bay Municipal Utility Retirement is reviewing its small-cap growth and value managers for underperformance on their individual accounts. Lloyd Sawchuk, the fund's treasury manager, said that the managers, which had...

LaSERS to launch consultant search. (General News).
March 10, 2003... The $5.6 billion Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System will likely issue a request for proposal (RFP) for a general consultant following an April 25 board meeting, LaSERS Chief Financial Officer Bobby Beale said. LaSERS' contract...

L.A. Utility plan selects finalists. (General News).
March 10, 2003... The $5.8 billion Los Angeles Water & Power Retirement Plan has selected finalists for both its $1.4 billion Russell 1000 search and its $422 million discretionary large-cap growth mandate. Plan Manager Duamel Vellon, said that decisions on...

PCA escapes being axed at L.A. utility. (General News).
March 10, 2003... Pension Consulting Alliance came close to receiving a pink slip from the $5.8 billion Los Angeles Water & Power Retirement Plan. Plan Manager Duamel Vellon, said that a motion to terminate the consultant was on the board's meeting agenda,...

Dayton Endowment plots changes. (General News).
March 10, 2003... The $565 million University of Dayton endowment is expected to reallocate some of its assets beginning in the second half of 2003, according to Dayton Investment Officer Delanie Moler. The endowment is currently undergoing a risk tolerance...

Luzerne officials dispute managers. (General News).
March 10, 2003... County officials at the $142 million Luzerne County Employees' Retirement System are at odds over the performance of its 18 money managers. Luzerne County Commissioner, Tom Pizano, in a published report, claimed that all 18 managers hired...

Denver picks smid manager. (General News).
March 10, 2003... The $2.5 billion Denver Public Schools Retirement System has chosen LSV Asset Management to manage a $40 million small- to mid-cap value (smid) account, DPSRS Executive Director David Stella said. LSV beat out fellow contender Rothschild...

Houston Fire plans mid-cap value hires. (General News).
March 10, 2003... The $1.6 billion Houston Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund has hired Ariel Capital Management to oversee a $25 million mid-cap value account--it's first in several years. Christopher Gonzales, chief investment officer for the fund,...

Reico staffs alternative group. (General News).
March 10, 2003... Refco Group Ltd. has added six employees to assist with the firm's new alternative investment arm, Refco Alternative Investments (RAI), which was launched Feb. 25, RAI Senior VP David Kugler said. New faces on the RAI team include Kugler,...

Essex gains two new principals. (General News).
March 10, 2003... Essex Investment Management has promoted Karen Korn, director of research, and Craig Lewis, small-cap/mid-cap portfolio manager to principals at the firm. Korn has been with the firm since 2001, while Lewis joined last year. "They...

Martin Currie re-org ripples U.S. client. (Industry at a Glance).
March 10, 2003... At least one client of independent Scottish investment firm Martin Currie is responding negatively to a change in the investment process at the $8.8 billion firm. The Edinburgh-based firm is moving to a "global sector-based" approach that...

Corporation acquires investment manager. (Industry at a Glance).
March 10, 2003... San Diego-based money manager Denali Advisors, has recently entered into an agreement with Huna Totem Corp. to acquire an equity ownership interest in its firm. Robert Snigaroff, president and chief executive officer of Denali, declined to...

Toolmaker triangle split on Bermuda. (Industry at a Glance).
March 10, 2003... The cry for more honest corporate governance continues, but profits remain the bottom line for voting shareholders. A proposal by a coalition of Tyco International investors calling for the company to reincorporate in the U.S. received just...

Tasho talks consultants, technology. (Investment Manager Profile).
March 10, 2003... Tamro Capital Partners Chief Investment Officer and o-founder Philip Tasho has been in the investment business for over 23 years. But for Tasho, it's the beginning of a whole new chapter as Tamro celebrates its first three years of operation...

Weekly Leads.
March 10, 2003... Weekly Leads Investment Management Weekly's Weekly Leads includes search and hire activity for the week ending January 2. The IMW staff believes the information, which was gathered from a variety of sources, to be reliable, but all...

Search overview.
March 10, 2003... Search Overview Plan Sponsor Mandate Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Int'l Equity/EAFE Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Enhanced Index/S&P 1000 Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Enhanced Index/S&P 500 California State...

Calender.
March 10, 2003... The staff at IMW has gathered the following items from a variety of sources. The 1MW staff believes the information in this section to be reliable, but all information should be confirmed with the various organizations. April 30-May 2: The...

Correction/Clarification.
March 10, 2003... Karen Kilberg is the executive director of the Minneapolis Teachers' Retirement Fund Association, not the Minnesota Teachers' Retirement Fund Association as mentioned in the 3/3/03 issue of lMW. Stephen Kneeley's name was misspelled in the...

Gartmore CIO leaves organization reshuffles. (At Press Time).
March 17, 2003... Peter Chambers has resigned as chief investment officer of both the Gartmore Group and Gartmore Investment Management as a direct result of the asset manager's increased focus on hedge funds. The change in leadership includes the hiring of...

Maryland plans private equity search.
March 17, 2003... The $25 billion Maryland State Retirement & Pension System could launch a search as early as next month for money managers specializing in private equity that could include alternatives and venture capital, Maryland Information Officer Joe...

CalSTRS seeks $100m fund-of-funds manager.
March 17, 2003... The $92 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System will initiate a search for a fund-of-funds manager to oversee the plan's $100 million new and next generation manager program-part of the plan's alternative investment...

Industry remains focused in face of war.
March 17, 2003... As the looming specter of a U.S.-led war against Iraq casts a shadow across the nation, the general consensus from professionals within the investment management and plan sponsor universe is "business as usual." A sampling of public...

Kansas is set to decide Loomis' fate. (General News).
March 17, 2003... The $8 billion Kansas Public Employees' Retirement System, which has had Loomis Sayles on watch on its $540 million high-yield fixed-income account since the retirement of high-yield portfolio manager Joe Whitbred, will make decisions on the...

Indiana to examine asset liability. (General News).
March 17, 2003... The $9 billion Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund will launch an asset liability study--its first in several years. IPERF Chief Investment Officer Patricia Gerrick, said that the plan initiated studies every three- to five-years, or...

San Bernardino lands new consultant. (General News).
March 17, 2003... The investment committee of the $3 billion San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association has retained New England Pension Consultants, as first reported on IMW's Web site, www.imweekly.com (3/11/03). The new consultant fills the...

CalPERS appoints new fund officers. (General News).
March 17, 2003... The California Public Employees' Retirement System has appointed two deputy executives, Vincent Brown and Loren Suter, to help run the pension fund, which has been hit with losses in its key staff and investments over the past year-and-a-half....

Tacoma's pabst takes leave until may. (General News).
March 17, 2003... Patricia Pabst, director of the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System has taken a leave of absence from the plan until May 1. Helen Small, interim retirement director, would not speculate on the specifics of Pabst's leave, but stressed that...

MERS picks ariel, Wellington for mid-cap. (General News).
March 17, 2003... The $3.3 billion Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan (MERS) has selected Ariel Capital Management and Wellington Management Company as active mid-cap fund managers, awarding $50 million mandates to each firm, Director of...

CaIPERS to post performance data. (General News).
March 17, 2003... Barring any technical glitches, the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) will post fund performance data for each of the 250 private equity funds in its $6.7 billion alternative investment portfollo on its Web...

Muni plan hires for core bonds. (General News).
March 17, 2003... The $50 million Fitchburg Retirement System has hired Richmond Capital Management to oversee its $25 million core fixed-income account. The search, which was completed earlier this month, replaces Sirach Capital Management, which was...

Client service raises in importance. (Industry at a Glance).
March 17, 2003... It is no big secret that the financial markets have continued to suffer its share of economic highs and lows leaving no one unscathed. In order to stay afloat in troubling times, investment managers have had to develop a new set of...

Future BCM client base "in the mail". (Industry at a Glance).
March 17, 2003... Berkeley Capital Management last week began mailing out mandatory public consent letters to its clients requesting they confirm whether they would remain BCM clients. The consent letters were, a, U.S. regulatory requirement following the...

Source: carmakers killer threat to PBGC. (Industry at a Glance).
March 17, 2003... Steelmakers and airlines may have put a strain on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., but automakers could deal the insurer of defined benefit pensions its most serious blow, said a source familiar with the PBGC, who declined to be identified....

For MSIM's Auslander, the devil is in the details. (Manager's Profile).
March 17, 2003... Morgan Stanley Investment Management Managing Director William Auslander admits that large-cap stocks have taken a beating over the last several years, but he remains guardedly optimistic about the future of the asset class. As a managing...

Weekly leads.
March 17, 2003... Weekly Leads Investment Management Weekly's Weekly Leads includes search and hire activity for the week ending March 13. The IMW staff believes the information, which was gathered from a variety of sources, to be reliable, but all...

Search overview.
March 17, 2003... Search Overview Plan Sponsor Mandate Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Int'l Equity/EAFE Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Enhanced Index/S&P 1000 Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. Enhanced...

Calendar.
March 17, 2003... The staff at IMW has gathered the following items from a variety of sources. The IMW staff believes the information in this section to be reliable, but all information should be confirmed with the various organizations. April 30-May 2: The...

Large funds isolate actuaries. (At Press Time).
March 24, 2003... Few large pension plan sponsors buy other consulting work from their actuaries, according to a recent study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Of the 84 Fortune 100 companies that sponsor defined-benefit plans, only 18 plan sponsors obtain...

Hershey kisses WestAM goodbye.
March 24, 2003... Setting the stage for a near $100 million search, the $1.2 billion Hershey Foods Corp. retirement plan has terminated Houston-based investment management firm WestAM, pension representative Jim Noland said. The firm managed a roughly $100...

San Jose eyes large-cap growth.
March 24, 2003... The $1.2 billion San Jose Police & Fire Retirement Plan has embarked on a large-cap growth search that could potentially replace three of its incumbent managers. San Jose Investment Officer Donna Busse said that two of the plan's managers,...

El Paso 911 sparks up small-cap search.
March 24, 2003... The $456 million El Paso Firemen & Policemen's Pension Fund has begun a search for a small-cap growth manager to oversee a mandate of an undetermined amount, El Paso Pension Administrator Robert Stanton said. A request for proposal has not...

Virginia plan study points to hedge funds. (General News).
March 24, 2003... The $529 million Richmond Retirement System is conducting an asset liability study that could lead to investments in hedge funds, Rich-mond Executive Director Clara Woody said. Consultant CRA RogersCasey is assisting in the study, which...

Union plan eyes corporate bonds. (General News).
March 24, 2003... The $500 million Teamsters Local #786 is close to the final stages of a search for a manager to oversee approximately $50 million in corporate high-yield bonds. Teamsters Plan Administrator Jeff Hoff said that the move to corporate bonds...

Connecticut abandons alternative search. (General News).
March 24, 2003... The $324 million Bristol General Retirement System has halted plans to search for an alternative money manager, BGRS Chairman John Boi said. The Bristol board considered reallocating an unspecified amount of assets into alternatives such as...

State fund considers asset reallocation. (General News).
March 24, 2003... The $7.5 billion Maine State Retirement System is poised to make a decision regarding the plan's objectives that could result in changes to its asset allocation, MSRS Investment Officer Gary Emery said. The plan's investment board is...

W. Va. loses hedge-fund gambit. (General News).
March 24, 2003... Lawmakers denied the West Virginia Investment Management Board approval to diversify into alternative investments before the close of the legislative session on March 16, West Virginia Chief Investment Officer Kristy Newkirk said. The plan...

Nevada taps western as bond manager. (General News).
March 24, 2003... The $13 billion Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada has awarded Western Asset Management a $400 million active U.S. bond mandate, PERSN CFO Ken Lambert said. While he wouldn't name finalists short-listed by the plan for the...

CalPERS squelches disclosure tensions. (General News).
March 24, 2003... CalPERS' investment committee put an end to a year of tensions between the Sacramento pension fund, private equity fund managers and the media last week. Its 12 members voted to post the performance of all the 250 funds in its $6.7 billion...

Small firm hires new VP. (People News).
March 24, 2003... RNG Genter Capital Management, which has approximately $1.2 billion in assets under management, has hired Michael Graff as its new VP in the firm's Los Angeles headquarters. Graff, most recently a senior VP at Bjurman, Barry & Associates,...

Loomis hires new director for bonds. (People News).
March 24, 2003... Loomis Sayles & Co. has hired Mark Smith, former managing director of sales at J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management, as its new managing director of the firm's $45 billion fixed-income portfolio. Repeated calls to officials at J.P. Morgan...

Real estate firm rolls out new strategy. (Industry at a Glance).
March 24, 2003... Miami-based real estate firm, Parmenter Co. has launched a new investment strategy. Parmenter VP of Acquisitions Alex Zylberglait said that the real estate fund would be offered in parallel vehicles: the Parmenter Private Realty Fund II...

Insight touts small-cap opportunities. (Industry at a Glance).
March 24, 2003... Insight Capital Research and Management's small-cap growth product, which turns seven this year, saw returns of 3.5%, beating the Russell 2000 Growth benchmark by nearly 7%, Insight CEO and portfolio manager Jim Collins said. "The...

War may fuel need for alternatives. (Industry at a Glance).
March 24, 2003... Geopolitical uncertainty has reached its highest level in a decade, which market professionals say may drive investment portfolios toward alternative assets as a means to mitigate potential risks. Over the past month, the standoff with Iraq...

Private companies adopt public governance best practices. (Industry at a Glance).
March 24, 2003... Many private companies are reacting to the regulatory pressure on public companies by improving their corporate governance standards to compete for capital, a recent survey found. Some 58% of CFOs at private companies with more than 20...

"Bond Bubble" will burst, MDL's lay warns. (Manager's Profile).
March 24, 2003... An exodus of investor assets from equities to bonds that followed the burst of the hi-tech bubble has created yet another bubble, and it's about to burst, MDL Capital Management Chairman, co-CEO and Chief Investment Strategist Mark Lay said....

Weekly Leads.
March 24, 2003... Weekly Leads Investment Management Weekly's Weekly Leads includes search and hire activity for the week ending March 20. The IMW staff believes the information, which was gathered from a variety of sources, to be reliable, but all...

Search Overview.
March 24, 2003... Search Overview Plan Sponsor Mandate Kansas Public Employees' R.S. Fixed-income/High-Yield Indiana Public Employees' R.F. A/L Study California State Teachers' R.S. ...

Calendar.
March 24, 2003... The staff at IMW has gathered the following items from a variety of sources. The IMW staff believes the information in this section to be reliable, but all information should be confirmed with the various organizations. April 28-30: The...

CMRA Adds Institutional Investor Arm.
March 31, 2003... Capital Market Risk Advisors president Leslie Rahl has teamed with Morgan Stanley Chief Risk Officer Lisa Polsky to create a joint venture called L2. An added component of CMRA's current consulting practice, L2 will offer institutional...