Investment Management Weekly articles from May 2004

Investment Management Weekly archives from May 2004

O.H. Plans Talk Legislation.
May 3, 2004... Officials at the Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System, the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund, the Ohio Public Employees' Retirement System, and the Ohio State Teachers' Retirement System met last week to discuss potential state legislation...

Maryland State Plan Boosts Private Equity.
May 3, 2004... The $26 billion Maryland State Retirement & Pension System is gearing up to increase its private equity exposure, a move that could lead to manager searches. Joe Coale, plan spokesman, said that the fund-which currently has a 1% allocation...

Vermont Plan Studies Alternative Investments.
May 3, 2004... The board members of the $110 million Burlington Employees' Retirement System are being educated on alternative investments and will decide in the coming months whether to implement an allocation. Cindy Davis, retirement administrator said...

San Diego City System Plots Asset Review.
May 3, 2004... The $3.2 billion San Diego City Employees' Retirement System will conduct a soup-to-nuts review of its asset allocation in July. "We review asset allocation more often than most," said Doug McCalla, CIO, adding that the board conducted the...

Melrose Board Search For Alternatives.
May 3, 2004... The Melrose Retirement Board has created an allocation to alternatives investments. The $43 million retirement board has initiated searches for private equity fund-of-funds and venture capital investments, said Barbara Well, plan...

Nevada Ices Large-Cap Growth Search.
May 3, 2004... The $16 billion Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada has halted plans to initiate a search for a manager to oversee a $500 million large-cap growth account. The plan had launched the search in March as a means to diversify the...

Mass. Plan Searches For Large-Cap Core.
May 3, 2004... The $82 million Pittsfield Contributory Retirement System has launched a search for a manager to oversee a $4 million large-cap core account. According to a document obtained by IMW, the plan would consider a commingled large-cap core...

Conn. Board Seeks New Administrator.
May 3, 2004... The $12 billion Connecticut Teachers' Retirement Board has launched a search for a pension administrator to replace Bill Sudol, who retired from the plan at the end of last year. Sudol joined the retirement system in 1970, then served as...

WSIB Completes Int'l Equity Searches.
May 3, 2004... The Washington State Investment Board has finalized its international equity manager lineup with the hires of Julius Baer and William Blair & Co. to oversee their respective international growth equity accounts and Causeway Capital Management...

Chase Seeks Client Services Pro.
May 3, 2004... Chase Investment Counsel Corp. is seeking a client-service executive. The position became available in March. David Scott, director and SVP, said a staff departure created the opening, but declined to elaborate. It could not be...

New Hamphire Hires for Large-Cap Growth.
May 3, 2004... The $4.5 billion New Hampshire Retirement System has hired State Street Global Advisors and LSV Asset Management to each oversee $110 million in large-cap growth equity, said Eric Henry, executive director. The new hires replace Fred Alger...

Mich. Plan Hires Mellon, William Blair.
May 3, 2004... The $404 million City of Dearborn Retirement System has added two firms to its money manager lineup. Donald Cundy, pension administrator, said that the board had appointed Mellon Financial Corp. to oversee a $35 million tactical asset...

Analyst Hire on Hold At AMG Subsidiary.
May 3, 2004... J.M. Hartwell, the New York-based subsidiary of Affiliated Managers Group, has halted a search for a financial analyst, said Barbara Romeo, principal. The small-cap growth specialist advertised in March for a financial analyst with...

ING Real-Estate Unit Promotes Pair.
May 3, 2004... ING Clarion has promoted both Ralph Belford and Robert Greer to senior director. Both Belford and Greer had held the title of director. Belford joined ING Clarion in 1995 and has been responsible for property acquisition of more than...

Thrivent Appoints New Senior Portfolio Mgr.
May 3, 2004... Thrivent Investment Management has hired Matthew Finn, as its new senior portfolio manager. In his new position, Finn will manage the large-cap value funds run by Thrivent. He will report to David Francis, head of equity for the firm. ...

Plan Exec. Gets Distinguished Honor.
May 3, 2004... Max Patterson, executive director of the Houston Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund was honored today as a distinguished African-American by the Connecticut Supreme Court. Patterson, who has been with the plan since 1997, was among...

Scandal Spurs Investment Industry Consolidation.
May 3, 2004... Asset management industry merger and acquisition activity picked up significantly in 2003, but the size and scope of the deals plummeted, in part, due to concerns arising from the scandal engulfing the fund industry, according to a recent study...

Registered Hedge Funds Gain in Popularity.
May 3, 2004... A total of 33 new hedge funds have been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the past 12 months. Eight new hedge funds have been registered so far this year, including new offerings from J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. ...

Ragsdale: Stock Selection is Key to Alpha.
May 3, 2004... For Easton Ragsdale, managing director at Weiss Peck & Greer Investments, the key to generating consistent returns well above and beyond the benchmark for the firm's Large-Cap Disciplined Equity strategy lies in the intricate and crucial...

Odds & Ends.
May 3, 2004... *Bradley Belt was named as executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Belt, most recently an executive with a financial services firm, succeeds 's appointment succeeds Steven Kandarian, who left the organization in February...

Enron Wife Gets Jail Time.
May 10, 2004... Lea Fastow, wife of Enron Corp. CFO Andrew Fastow, received a 12-month prison sentence after admitting guilt in a misdemeanor tax charge. She received the maximum sentence possible for the charge and must serve the duration of her term....

Pfizer Checks Out Hedge Funds, More.
May 10, 2004... The $10 billion Pfizer, Inc. is reviewing hedge funds, timber and tactical asset investments. Arvin Soh, investment manager, said that the company's pension group has been discussing hedge fund investing for about three years, but has yet...

J.P. Morgan Fleming Loses Equity Pro.
May 10, 2004... John Piccard, small-cap equity portfolio manager at J.P. Morgan Fleming Investment Management is said to be leaving the firm, according to industry sources familiar with the situation. Piccard is said to be joining Lord Abbett & Co....

SJCERA to Launch Private Real Estate RFP.
May 10, 2004... The $1.3 billion San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement System will, in the coming weeks, issue RFPs for managers to oversee core, value-added and opportunistic real estate investments. Robert Palmer, plan administrator said that the...

Woburn Seeks Passive Manager.
May 10, 2004... The $80 million Woburn Retirement System has launched a search for a manager to oversee a $15 million passive large-cap core portfolio. Maureen Marcucci, retirement administrator, said that the search is an extension of an earlier RFP...

Union to Search For Smid-Cap, Real Estate.
May 10, 2004... The $250 million West Virginia Laborers' Pension Trust Fund will be gearing up to launch first-time searches for small- to mid-cap equity and directed real estate managers, said Steven Smith, administrator for the Taft-Hartley fund. "We...

Pa. Muni to Search For New Consultant.
May 10, 2004... The $142 million Luzerne County Retirement Board is gearing up to issue an RFP for a new consultant-a move that could potentially oust the incumbent Merrill Lynch Consultant Services-said a source with the fund last week. The issuance of...

Nikpour Promoted To Associate Publisher.
May 10, 2004... Thomson Media, publisher of Investment Management Weekly, has promoted Harry Nikpour from advertising sales director, to associate publisher of the investment management newsletters. In this role, Nikpour's advertising responsibilities will...

Third Party Firm Seeks Marketing Pros.
May 10, 2004... Arrow Partners, a Purchase, N.Y.-based third party marketing firm, is seeking to boost business with the addition of two marketing professionals. "We are looking to grow the business," said Steve Rubenstein, president, adding that the firm...

Sobti's Exit No Problem for BlackRock Clients.
May 10, 2004... The departure of one of BlackRock Financial Management's co-heads of fixed-income investments has not been a cause of concern or angst for its plan sponsor clients. Rajiv Sobti left BlackRock last month after six years to join Vega Asset...

CalSTRS Allocates to Int'l Alternatives.
May 10, 2004... The California State Teachers' Retirement System is gearing up to move 25% of its $1.5 billion private equity portfolio abroad, according to a new alternative investment plans adopted by the pension fund on May 5. More than half of the...

Regulation, Hedge Fund Popularity Stoke General Discussion.
May 10, 2004... Concern with tighter regulation and scrutiny, as well as the role the hedge fund as a new investment vehicle, was the topic of discussion amongst the panel for the general session held last Monday. Improved transparency and oversight should...

Investment ManagersTalk About Marketing Plans.
May 10, 2004... Three of the largest in the institutional investment management business each customized a specific marketing and selling plan and discussed that experience, during the "Developing a Marketing Plan-A Market Segment Approach" workshop. ...

Small-, Mid-Sized or Large Investment Managers Talk Pros, Cons.
May 10, 2004... The small- to mid-size investment manager is enjoying a renewed vogue based on perceived nimbleness and independence notwithstanding its resource-rich large-scale competition. The Tuesday panel for the "Big Firm, Small Firm-Does Size...

Consultant Panel Offers Best-Practice Insight.
May 10, 2004... Tuesday's consultant-led panel offered advice and insight to participants during the "Money Manager Best Practice-Positioning Your Firm to Succeed" workshop. A study from Casey Quirk & Acito conducted in 2000 detailing the potential for...

Bevin: Starting from Scratch With Integrity.
May 10, 2004... Anyone who knows Matthew Bevin, founder and CEO of Integrity Asset Management, would not describe him as unwilling to take chances. Nonetheless, they might have thought him a bit crazy to leave the security of being director of product...

Odds & Ends.
May 10, 2004... *The Oregon Public Employees' Retirement System has named Paul Cleary as the next executive director of the fund. Cleary, who joins the board from the state's Water Resources Department, is scheduled to take on the role as early as June 1. He...

SEC: Fund Companies Sole Beneficiary of Fees.
May 17, 2004... The mutual-fund industry is the sole beneficiary of its marketing-fee practice, according to a report from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The report indicated that the fee charging or rule 12b-1 has little value other than to enrich...

Alaska Fund Makes Moves to Hedge Funds.
May 17, 2004... The $25 billion Alaska Permanent Fund Corporationacting on a recent increase to its alternative investment allocationwill make its first foray into the hedge fund market, said Laura Achee, spokeswoman for the fund. Last week, the passage...

N.Y. State Teachers Watch Two, Subtracts One.
May 17, 2004... The $81 billion New York State Teachers Retirement System placed Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) and Morgan Stanley Investment Management on watch and terminated Montag & Caldwell during its board meeting last month, as first reported...

Clients Embrace Delaware Intl. Buyout.
May 17, 2004... Plan sponsor clients of Delaware International Advisers are demonstrating devotion to their manager amid a management-led buyout that would make the international equity-specialist independent from parent Lincoln National Corp. Last week,...

Denali Considers Alaska-Based Office.
May 17, 2004... The San Diego-based large-cap specialist, Denali Advisorsseeking to increase its $650 million in assets under managementcould possibly set up shop in Alaska, said Robert Snigaroff, president and CIO of the firm. In a step toward the...

Texas Teachers Appoints Director.
May 17, 2004... The $80 billion Teachers Retirement System of Texas has appointed Ronnie Jung as its new executive director, said Howard Goldman, spokesman for the fund. Jung became the interim director last August, a position he assumed following the...

Wilshire: Corporate Plans Improve.
May 17, 2004... The corporate-pension plan market showed signs of improvement in 2003 following its worst-ever asset-totals in 2002, according to a Wilshire Associates report. The 2004 Corporate Funding Survey on Pensions (FASB 87) reported that assets of...

Mass. Muni Hires for International Equity.
May 17, 2004... The Belmont Retirement System has hired Julius Baer Investment Management to oversee a $5 million commingled-international equity mandate. The hire replaces Putnam Investments, which was terminated last December, said Marion Cote, the...

El Paso Plan Hires For Large-Cap.
May 17, 2004... The $175 million El Paso County Retirement Plan has hired Gardner Lewis Asset Management to oversee a roughly $18 million large-cap growth account. The new hire replaces Strong Capital Management, which was terminated last year when the...

Brockton Restructures Real Estate Setup.
May 17, 2004... The Brockton Retirement System has realigned its real estate-investment program. The $207 million retirement system selected Duff & Phelp, New Boston Fund and The Tuckerman Group to oversee a real estate account totaling $8 million. The...

Lynn Hires New Small-Cap Manager.
May 17, 2004... The $160 million Lynn Retirement Board has hired State Street Global Advisors to oversee an $8 million small-cap growth account. The hire replaces J&W Seligman & Co., which was terminated from the portfolio, said Gary Brenner, board...

Ala. PACT Hires Small-Cap Duo.
May 17, 2004... The $633 million Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition has hired EARNEST Partners and State Street Research & Management Co. to oversee approximately $30 million each in small-cap value and growth equity accounts, respectively. ...

Merrill Fined $625,000 by NYSE.
May 17, 2004... Merrill Lynch was fined $625,000 by the New York Stock Exchange for failing to supervise former stock analyst Peter Caruso and a saleswoman from disclosing to several institutional clients information of the planned downgrade of Home Depots...

BGI Rollout iShares to DB Market Via Online Platform.
May 17, 2004... Barclays Global Investors has partnered with Internet Investment Education to bring the exchange-traded-fund to the defined-benefit market. BGI will offer the iShares ETF group via The 401(k) Solution technology platform from IIE, said...

Consultant Urges Clients to Maintain High Yield Targets.
May 17, 2004... New England Pension Consultants proposed maintaining only a target commitment in high yield, citing poor bond market outlook. The reportwhich was produce by the firms research staffadvised that the timeframe for capital appreciation in high...

Fidelity Appoints Six for Trust Platform.
May 17, 2004... Fidelity Management Trust Co. has appointed six third-party investment managers to its new partnership program, which offers bundled investment management and administrative strategies to corporate, and institutional defined benefit pension...

Stemme: Best, Brightest Managers Equal Positive Fund-of-Funds Returns.
May 17, 2004... We did have one manager that filed for bankruptcy some years ago. That is a sign we worry about, although certainly there could have been an innocent explanation. But you dont want to be invested with a manager that has personal financial...

Odds & Ends.
May 17, 2004... Ohio State Teachers Retirement System will pay $3.85 million in incentive bonuses to 371 investment and non-investment personnel. CalSTRS targeted a dozen companies with which it will work closely to try to improve corporate governance...

Strong Banned for Life.
May 24, 2004... Dick Strong, founder of Strong Financial Corp., was slapped with a lifetime ban and a $140 million fine for improper trading. Strong allegedly deceived clientele that they were duty-bound to protect, said Stephen Cutler, director of...

Garden State Plan Anticipates Portfolio Review.
May 24, 2004... The New Jersey Division of Investment could be gearing up to launch a soup-to-nuts review of its portfolio after the hire of Strategic Investment Solutions, the plans new consultant. It is a component of what we hired them to do, said...

Tooke Could Leave Small-Cap Team.
May 24, 2004... ForstmannLeffs acquisition of Schroder Investments North American small-cap operations may not be the last change that will befall the small-cap group. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated April 26, Nancy Tooke,...

Texas Teachers Eyes Emerging Managers.
May 24, 2004... The $88 billion Texas Teachers Retirement System is gearing up to launch an RFI for one or more managers to oversee an emerging private equity fund-of-funds mandate. Julie Helton, spokeswoman for the fund, could not speculate on the...

Lydian Trust on Acquisition Trail.
May 24, 2004... Lydian Trust Co. is getting set to make a dual acquisition for its wealth-management line. Multifamily office Windermere Investment Associates and high-net-worth specialist Copper Beech Advisors will join Lydian Wealth Management under the...

Quincy Launches Mid-Cap Search.
May 24, 2004... The $224 million City of Quincy Contributory Retirement System has launched a search for a mid-cap core manager to oversee between $15 million and $25 million. Specific details of the search could not be determined, as calls to Edward...

LACERS Launches Consultant Search.
May 24, 2004... The $7.7 billion Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System has launched a search for an alternative investment consultant for its $500 million alternatives portfolio. Rod June, investment officer for the plan, said that the contract for...

Bessemer Pro Leaves The Firm.
May 24, 2004... Industry veteran Burns Mac Lowry has left the Bessemer Group, according to sources familiar with the situation. According to one source, Lowrys exit was part of a spate of departures of senior executives at the firm. Lisa Brayer...

U.S. Trust Pros Bolt to Boutique Firm.
May 24, 2004... Jamison, Eaton & Woodthe Chatham, N.J.-based boutique investment management firmhas lured three senior-level staff from the powerhouse investment firm, U.S. Trust Co. Edward Bromley, George DeCesare and Karolyn Gilligan, left U.S. Trust...

Lord Abbett Completes Small-Cap Core Team.
May 24, 2004... Lord Abbett & Co. has fully developed its small-cap core team with the addition of John Piccard as its new senior equity research analyst, said Jason Farago, a spokesman for the firm. As first reported in IMW, Piccard joined Lord Abbett...

Met West Hires New Researcher.
May 24, 2004... Metropolitan West Capital Management has hired Jeffrey Peck as its new senior VP and research analyst. Ill be researching and looking for companies that fit our investment style, said Peck, who anticipates more additions to the research...

DeAM Names New Director of Fixed Income.
May 24, 2004... Deutsche Asset Management has named Julian Evans the new director and sector manager of its fixed-income group. Evans, who was most recently the VP and senior mortgage-backed securities trader at Times Square Capital Management, will be in...

PM Joins Corporate Responsibility Firm.
May 24, 2004... Philip Propper De Callejon, former large-cap growth portfolio manager at Trust Company of the West, has joined Dover Management as its new CIO. Propper De Callejon joined Doveran investment advisor touting corporate responsibility as...

Baird Expands Offerings with REITs.
May 24, 2004... Robert W. Bairdthe Milwaukee-based, wealth management and private equity firm has launched a new sector for the firm by hiring a real estate investment trust (REIT) team headed by Mark Decker Sr. Also part of the new team are VP Mark Decker,...

Industry Pros Remain Hard-Pressed to Defend Soft Dollars.
May 24, 2004... The discussion over soft dollars is nothing new for the fund business, but the recent wave of impropriety that has permeated the nations biggest investment managers has thrown gasoline on the fire. Securities regulators and Congress are...

Graybill: Non-Profit Assets Destined to Soar.
May 24, 2004... Jason Graybill, managing director at Abner, Herrman & Brock Asset Management contends that non-profit assets will soar to all-time highs in the not-too-distant future and the aging baby boomer population will largely be responsible for the...

Odds & Ends.
May 24, 2004... Eaglerock Capital Management named Andrew Laszlo as its new chief operating officer. Laszlo joined the New York private-investment fund after a seven-year career as senior VP at Lehman Brothers. Laszlo reports to CIO and General Partner Nader...

Stand By Your Partner.
May 31, 2004... In the tradition of Tammy Wynette, the Vanguard Group announced that it would stand by partner Wellington Management Company, in spite of a regulatory investigation launched by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Officials at Vanguard...

SCERS Preps for Hedge-Fund-of-Funds.
May 31, 2004... The $4 billion Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System will make its first foray into the hedge fund marketplacevia a fund-of-funds strategyand could split up to $200 million between two managers, said Jeffrey States, plan CIO. The...

Illinois Teachers to Commit $400M to Private Equity.
May 31, 2004... The $31.5 billion Illinois Teachers' Retirement System is gearing up to commit $400 million to private equity investments during its upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. John Day, plan spokesman, said that while the fund currently has...

MassPRIM Pushes to Hide Data.
May 31, 2004... The Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board is fighting to shield data related to its private equity and hedge fund investments via a state Treasury proposal. The proposal would allow information related to these types of...

City of Seattle Keeps Eye on MFS.
May 31, 2004... The $1.6 billion City of Seattle Employees' Retirement System has placed MFS Investment Management on watch on its roughly $41 million international large-cap equity account. Mel Robertson, the plan's assistant executive director, said...

Minn. Fund to Search for EAFE Managers.
May 31, 2004... The $850 million St. Paul Teachers' Retirement System will, in the coming weeks, issue an RFP for an international equity manager to oversee an EAFE growth account. Specific details of the search could not be determined, as Phillip Kapler,...

Peach State Fire Fund Hires for Value.
May 31, 2004... The $450 million Georgia Firefighters' Retirement Fund has hired Cooke & Beiler Investment Counsel to oversee a $40 million large-cap value account, said James Meynard, the plan's senior fund officer. The hire marks the final phase of an...

Missouri Plan Terminates Chartwell.
May 31, 2004... The $340 million St. Louis County Retirement System has terminated Chartwell Investment Partners from a $41 million large-cap value account during the plan's May 27 retirement board meeting. Glenn Pearl, plan CFO, said that Chartwell, which...

Big Apple on Course to Double Private Equity.
May 31, 2004... The New York City Comptroller's Office-which oversees the Employees' Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System, the Police Pension Fund, the Fire Department Pension Fund and the Board of Education Retirement System-plans to double its...

David L. Babson Lures Servicing Pro.
May 31, 2004... David L. Babson & Co. has hired Linda Carstens-former senior VP and institutional client service manager at State Street Research & Management Co.-as its new client service officer. Cartsens will be responsible for maintaining contact with...

Startup to Boost Research Analyst Staff.
May 31, 2004... Fledgling investment advisor Sustainable Growth Advisers, seeking to grow its $1 billion in assets under management, is bolstering its research department with research analysts. Robert Rohn, principal, said that the ideal candidates would...

Ohio State Adopts New Rules for Public Funds.
May 31, 2004... Five of Ohio's state pension plans must now adopt ethics policies and reforms under new legislation that was passed last week. The Ohio General Assembly approved Am. Sub. 13, which now requires that the retirement boards of the Highway...