Investment Management Weekly articles from May 2005

Investment Management Weekly archives from May 2005

Canadian Funds to Maintain Asset Allocations.
May 2, 2005... Plans for the Canadian government to remove a 30% cap on foreign investments for pension funds may have no bearing on the asset allocations of plan sponsors. In Feb., Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale announced plans to remove the...

Ohio Guns & Hoses Hunts for Real Estate.
May 2, 2005... The $9.6 billion Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund has issued an RFP for real estate investment management services, spokesman David Graham told IMW last week. The fund decided to search for a manager to oversee a $150 million mandate, as it...

LACERS To Hunt for Small-Cap, EAFE Managers.
May 2, 2005... The $8.1 billion Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS) is gearing up to search for managers to oversee allocations in small-cap and possibly international equity. According to the LACERS Web site, the fund will be accepting...

La. Teachers' Advance to New Asset Classes.
May 2, 2005... The $12.4 billion Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) is gearing up to unveil several RFPs over the next year-that would likely include new allocations to real estate and hedge funds, said Executive Director Bonita Brown. ...

Small-Cap in the Cards for Ann Arbor.
May 2, 2005... The Ann Arbor Employees' Retirement System has authorized its consultant to initiate a search for a small-cap equity manager, according to the April 21 agenda of the plan's retirement board. Full details of the potential search, including...

HMEPS to Search for High Yield Managers.
May 2, 2005... The $1.4 billion Houston Municipal Employees' Pension System (HMEPS) will launch a search for a high yield manager in the coming weeks, said Peter Koops, plan spokesman. The search will replace GoldenTree Asset Management, which will leave...

Wisconsin Hires New Real Estate Advisor.
May 2, 2005... The $70 billion State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) has hired Courtland Partners as its new real estate consultant, said spokeswoman Vicki Hearing last week. "The search was launched in January to replace Frank Russell, which was no...

Pa. Muni Launches Dual Searches.
May 2, 2005... The $1.2 billion Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System has initiated double RFPs for large-cap value and small-cap growth managers to oversee $50 million and $30 million, respectively. Jim Allen, plan secretary, said that the large-cap...

Florida Plan Completes Asset Study Gears Up for Manager Searches.
May 2, 2005... The $439 million City of Clearwater Pension Fund has completed its asset allocation study (See IMW, 12/13/04) and could initiate manager searches, based on the recommendations of the finding, in the coming months. Calls to Steve Moskun,...

Janus Institutional Crafts a New Beginning.
May 2, 2005... True to its namesake-the Roman god of beginnings and endings-Janus Institutional Asset Management has plotted a course to start anew. The firm, with approximately $25 billion in assets under management for the gamut of institutional...

Does BNY Acquisition Signal Commission Recapture Boom?
May 2, 2005... In a move to enhance its trading capabilities and augment its ability to market new services, the Bank of New York Co.'s (BNY), on April 22, announced its intent to acquire the New York-based commission recapture firm Lynch, Jones & Ryan (LJR)....

Hersh: REITs Instill Confidence in Plan Sponsors.
May 2, 2005... As the real estate investor universe expands, the strong performance of REITs through the most recent equity bear market has instilled even more confidence in plan sponsors, said Mitchell Hersh, president and CEO of the $5.2 billion New...

Odds & Ends.
May 2, 2005... *Lord Abbett & Co. has hired Bruce Bartlett as director of growth equity investments and portfolio manager of the Lord Abbett Large-Cap Growth Fund. He joins from OppenheimerFunds. *Schroders Investment Management has made several new...

Cahill Pushes for Massachusetts-Based Investments.
May 9, 2005... Massachusetts State Governor Timothy Cahill is proposing a plan that would use assets from the $36 billion Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board to promote "economically targeted investments" within the state. This is...

Santa Barbara Eyes More International Equity.
May 9, 2005... The $1.2 billion Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System has directed its consultant-Pension Consulting Alliance-to embark on a search for an international equity manager, according to the agenda from the plan's May 4 board meeting....

San Joaquin Discusses Smid-Cap Value.
May 9, 2005... The board of the approximately $1.7 billion San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement Association is considering whether to add a smid-cap value equity account to its portfolio, said Robert Palmer, plan administrator. Palmer explained that...

Invesco to Trim Core and Growth Teams.
May 9, 2005... Invesco will be making changes at its Louisville, Ky. offices due to the underperformance of five of its investment funds, said spokesman Bill Hensel. The firm will cut several team members from its active core and growth equity portfolios...

Mass. Fund Launches Duo Searches.
May 9, 2005... The $550 million Worcester Regional Retirement Board is gearing up to invest $80 million of its assets. The Mass.-based fund is searching for managers to oversee a $30 million passive S&P 500 index account. Additionally, the plan has...

Pa. Plan Hires for Hedge Funds.
May 9, 2005... The $250 million Westmoreland County Retirement Board has selected a new hedge fund manager, said Carmen Pedicone, controller of the fund. During its most recent board meeting, the plan hired Stonebrook Institutional Partners to handle the...

Angeles Expands Consulting Services.
May 9, 2005... Angeles Investment Advisors has added Adrienne Grant to its team as managing director of advisory services to help boost its foundation and high-net worth investment capabilities, said Michael Rosen, a principal at the firm. "All of our...

Ohio P&F Adjusts Manager Lineup.
May 9, 2005... The $9.6 billion Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F) recently completed a slew of asset management hires, said spokesman David Graham last week. The fund has hired two new managers for its mid-cap core equity lineup to oversee $280...

Employers Critical of Bush Pension Plan.
May 9, 2005... Employer groups applaud the Bush administration for tackling the woes of the defined-benefit system, but they are worried how changes will impact plan sponsors, according to IMW's sister publication, Employee Benefit News. The American...

Davidson: Institutional Clients Move to Hedge Against Inflation.
May 9, 2005... As evidence mounts that the U.S. economy has hit a soft patch-a slow 3.1% growth, high energy and commodity prices and a sluggish stock market-institutional investors may have begun to seek shelter from the slow economic growth by implementing...

Odds & Ends.
May 9, 2005... *The Texas Pacific Group and Warburg Pincus will purchase The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. for about $5.1 billion. Each of the investors will own equal stakes in the company upon completion of the transaction. Completion of the deal is contingent...

TIAA-CREF CFO Steps Down; Faces Possible Charges.
May 16, 2005... A connection to the recent investigations in the insurance industry has prompted Elizabeth Monrad to step down from her position as CFO of the $340 billion TIAA-CREF. Monrad will be taking an unpaid leave of absence to deal with possible...

Kern County Drops Small-Cap Manager: Portfolio Review May Be In The Works.
May 16, 2005... The board of the $2 billion Kern County Employees' Retirement Association (KCERA) has terminated Rothschild Asset Management from a small-cap value portfolio and may have begun the process to replace the firm. Reasons for the termination...

CalPERS Push for More $$, But Less Managers: Plan Seeks Greater Private Equity Exposure.
May 16, 2005... The California Public Employees' Retirement System's investment committee-during an investment committee meeting today-may approve a change to its private equity investment policy that could force the fund to invest more dollars with fewer...

Oklahoma Cops Search For Small-Cap Growth.
May 16, 2005... The Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System has launched a search to replace a manager that is currently on watch. Executive Director Robert Wallace said that an RFP was initiated to replace the San Diego-based money manager...

Brockton Rolls Out Multiple Searches.
May 16, 2005... The $182 million Brockton Retirement System has issued several RFPs, one of which could unseat an incumbent manager, said Richard Zacarro, senior consultant with Evaluation Associates. The Massachusetts fund is currently searching for a...

Mass. Fund Plots Equity Search.
May 16, 2005... The $216 million Fall River Retirement System has issued an RFP for a domestic equity manager to oversee approximately $15 million, executive director Christine Tetreault confirmed last week. Tetreault referred further questions regarding...

Southbridge Hunts for Real Estate Mgr.
May 16, 2005... The Southbridge Retirement Board is on the hunt for a core real estate manager. Full details of the search were scant, as Mary St. Germain, plan administrator of the fund, could not be reached for comment. However, according to a...

California Plan Hires New Administrator.
May 16, 2005... The $385 million Merced County Employees' Retirement Association has appointed a new plan administrator, but the plan's staff is remaining tight-lipped on the new hire's identity. A staffer, who declined to be identified, said that the plan...

SWIB Looks for Private Equity Pro.
May 16, 2005... The $65 billion State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) is looking to beef up its private equity team and has begun a search for a senior investment analyst, said Vicki Hearing, public information officer, for the fund. Hearing said...

ACG Seeks Hedge Fund Researcher.
May 16, 2005... The St. Louis-based investment consulting firm, Asset Consulting Group (ACG), is looking to hire a research analyst for the firm's hedge funds division, according to information posted on its Web site. Don Mueth, director of operations for...

Private Equity Without Fund Management Fees?
May 16, 2005... As many private equity funds struggle to invest gobs of committed capital in a world where good deals are scarce, expensive, or both, one private equity firm has no such problem, according to IMW's sister publication Investment Dealers Digest....

Kaufman: Emerging Markets Worth the Risk.
May 16, 2005... When people think of emerging markets debt, the immediate follow-on thought is usually the risk factors associated with investing in developing regions. Jeffrey Kaufman, managing director and emerging markets team leader at Putnam Investments...

Odds & Ends.
May 16, 2005... *Stevens McAleer has joined Robeco Investment Management as a principal. Reporting to Managing Director Davis Clayson, he will focus on offering municipal fixed-income products and alternative strategies through the advisor marketplace. He...

Transamerica Acquires Growth Firm.
May 23, 2005... Transamerica Investment Manage- ment (TIM) announced last week that the firm had entered into an agreement to acquire the Los Angeles-based growth shop Westcap Investments. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, however the transaction...

Aloha State Drops Delaware Investments: Watches Bishop Street.
May 23, 2005... The $9.1 billion State of Hawaii Employees Retirement System has reportedly terminated Delaware Investmentsthe plans large-cap value manager since 1978, according to Nelsons MarketPlace- Web.comfrom a roughly $454 million account. The plan also...

San Diego City Employees Eye Putnam.
May 23, 2005... The $3.1 billion San Diego City Employees Retirement System has placed Putnam Investments on watch for organizational issues. The firm oversees a $231 million core international equity portfolio for the plan. Doug McCalla, plan CIO, said...

St. Louis Cops Mull Hedge Funds, More.
May 23, 2005... Investments in hedge funds and emerging markets may be in the not-too-distant future for the roughly $700 million St. Louis Police Retirement System, according to a letter to the plans trustees from board chairman, Jim Long. The...

Essex Regional Issues Real Estate RFP.
May 23, 2005... The $228 million Essex Regional Retirement Board has launched a search for a manager to oversee a private real estate account, said Timothy Bassett, chairman of the pension fund. Bassett said that the Danvers, Mass.-based board initiated...

La. Municipal Cops Drop Forstmann-Leff.
May 23, 2005... The $1.2 billion Louisiana Municipal Police Employees Retirement System is close to selecting finalists to oversee a $27 million mid-cap growth account previously managed by Forstmann-Leff Associates. The managerwhich was placed on watch...

NICA Hires Equity Managers.
May 23, 2005... The Florida Birth-Related Nuerological Injury Compensation Association (NICA)a statutory organization that manages the Florida Birth Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan used to pay for the care of infants born with certain...

SDCERA Drops NACM, Creates Commodities.
May 23, 2005... The $6.2 billion San Diego County Employees Retirement System has terminated one of its domestic small-cap growth managers to free up funds for its new allocation to long-only commodity investments. Lisa Needle, the plans assistant CIO,...

Eaton Vance Gives Institutional Business a Boost.
May 23, 2005... Eaton Vance Corporation, in a move to boost its visibility in the institutional market place and build on its assets under management, has hired Lisa Jones as the head of institutional business at Eaton Vance Management. Jones, who was...

Private Equity Investor Group Backs New Standards.
May 23, 2005... The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA)a group that represents 138 investors in nine countries that collectively manage $2 trillionhas thrown its weight behind a set of guidelines that would standardize the way private equity...

SEC Unveils Consulting Industry Faux Pas.
May 23, 2005... The findings of the 18-month Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into possible conflicts of interests in the investment consulting industry may have finally confirmed the suspicions of industry watchers; the pension...

Morales: Opportunities Abound for Distressed Debt.
May 23, 2005... The month of April posted what many are calling its worst performance since September 2002 for the hedge fund market. Returns of -1.75% has lead some to tout its performance as a meltdown month for the industry. However, Walter Morales,...

Odds & Ends.
May 23, 2005... *Harris Nesbitt the U.S. investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group announced that William Shreier has been hired to become a managing director of equity capital markets at its New York-based office. The firm created the...

Kan. Treasurer Works to Thwart Terrorism.
May 30, 2005... Kansas State Treasurer, Sarah Steelman called for officials at the Kansas Public Employees' Retirement System to stop investing in banks that have terrorist connections, as such actions aid terrorism. Approximately 20% of the plan's $6...

LaSERS May Issue International Equity RFP.
May 30, 2005... The $6.3 billion Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System may be gearing up to embark on manager searches as contracts of two of its incumbent money managers are coming to term. Possibly up for grabs are two international equity...

Illinois Teachers' Places Delaware on Watch: Plots International Equity Searches.
May 30, 2005... The $33 billion Illinois Teachers' Retirement System has placed Delaware Investments on watch for failure to meet its benchmark, the Russell 2500 Growth Index, on a $509 million smid-cap equity account. John Day, plan spokesman, said that...

Louisiana Cops to Ponder Alt. Investments.
May 30, 2005... The $311 million Louisiana State Police Retirement System will be getting acquainted with alternatives investments and could possibly make a maiden investment in the future, said Irwin Phelps, executive director at the plan sponsor. ...

Hawaii Preps for Manager Search.
May 30, 2005... The board of the $9.1 billion State of Hawaii Employees' Retirement System is gearing up to initiate a search for possibly one or more managers to replace Delaware Investments. Earlier this month, the manager was terminated from a large-cap...

Pennsylvania Fund May Shift Assets.
May 30, 2005... The trustees of the $197 million Chester County Retirement Board may soon increase investments in international equity and large-cap growth-if they heed the advice of their consultant, Vincent Lowry. Reportedly, Lowry of VTL Associates...

UN Fund Hunts for Emerging Markets Pro.
May 30, 2005... The $20.6 billion United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund is looking for a senior investment officer for its Investment Management Service (IMS) division. According to the United Nations Web site, the senior investment officer will...

CalSTRS May Scale Back on Alternatives.
May 30, 2005... The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) will reduce its exposure to venture capital and pull back its overall allocation to alternative investments-if the pension fund's investment committee adopts a series of investment...

Oklahoma Teachers' Pick for Intl Equity.
May 30, 2005... The $7.4 billion Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma has narrowed the field to three finalists in its search for an all-cap international equity account, said CIO Bill Puckett. The fund launched the search in March for a manager to...

Sources: Pru's Fixed-Income Pro Set to Bolt.
May 30, 2005... Curtis Johnson, head of institutional sales and marketing in Prudential Investment Management's fixed-income department, will soon be leaving the firm to join another, according to sources familiar with the situation. Full details of...

Public Policy Makers Could Take Lessons From Corporate Pension Plans.
May 30, 2005... Policy makers for Social Security reform can learn a thing or two from corporate pension funds, according to a recent report by Greenwich Associates. The study indicates that the challenges public officials will face when attempting to...

Investments in Climate Change Gaining Ground.
May 30, 2005... Institutional investors must stand up and take notice of the laws and policies affecting energy and the environment, said James Cameron, co-founder of the U.K.-based Climate Change Capital. Cameron added that although European investors...

Making Poaching a Surgical Strike.
May 30, 2005... Financial institutions are turning mass employee poaching into a tricky surgical procedure with the growth of a practice called "lift-outs," a clandestine operation where one firm, poaches an entire money management team. The practice, in...

India Real Estate is Prime for U.S. Investors.
May 30, 2005... The change in India's economic climate has served to promote the continent as a promising prospect for investors. Particularly in real estate, contend Ashwin Ramesh, and Sorabh Jain, co-founders of the Mumbai, India-based Primary Real...

Delaware Changes Creates a Surprisingly Small Stir.
May 30, 2005... While the organizational changes at Delaware Investments may have raised eyebrows at some pension funds, others have opted to stay the course with the manager. Jebb Burns, CIO of the Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Michigan said...

Odds & Ends.
May 30, 2005... *The American Express Financial Advisors (AEFA), a unit of American Express Company has changed its name to Ameriprise Financial. The move is part of the firm's plan to form an independent and publicly traded financial service business-one that...