Investment Management Weekly articles from May 2006

Investment Management Weekly archives from May 2006

Study Shows D.B. Funds Are an Endangered Species.
May 8, 2006... A Watson Wyatt Worldwide analysis of Fortune 100 companies found that the number of companies offering traditional pension plans to new hires has dropped by more than half over the last 10 years. The study showed that in 1985, about 89% of...

San Joaquin Seeks Absolute-Return Managers.
May 8, 2006... As first reported on IMW's Web site, imweekly.com, the $1.6 billion San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement Association is on the cusp of launching a search for a fixed-income absolute return manager, said Robert Palmer, administrator of the...

Cincinnati Retirement Eyes Two, Drops One.
May 8, 2006... The $2 billion City of Cincinnati Retirement System has placed Montag & Caldwell and Ariel Capital Management on watch for underperformance versus their respective benchmarks, and may have terminated Smith-Graham & Company from a $67 million...

PSERS Releases Small-Cap Manager.
May 8, 2006... The board of the $52 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) terminated Longwood Investment Advisors from a $110 million small-cap growth equity portfolio during its April 28 meeting. Longwood, which has...

Kentucky Issues Core Fixed-Income RFI.
May 8, 2006... The $15 billion Kentucky Retirement System has put forth an RFI for core fixed-income managers. Full details of the process-including the size of the potential mandate-could not be determined, as repeated calls to Kenton Bottoms, the...

Ohio BWC Names New CIO.
May 8, 2006... The $15.8 billion Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) has appointed a new CIO to help get the fund back on track, confirmed spokeswoman Nancy Smeltzer. As CIO, Bruce Dunn will monitor the performance of funds and their managers and...

Penn. SERS Approves Investments.
May 8, 2006... The $28.2 billion Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System (SERS) has authorized up to $320 million in investments in private equity, venture capital and real estate. Robert Gentzel, spokesman for the plan, said that the investments...

Alaska Fund Hires for Mid-Cap.
May 8, 2006... The $500 million Anchorage Police and Fire Retirement System has hired Ark Asset Management to oversee a mid-cap value equity portfolio. Full details of the hire, including the size of the mandate, could not be obtained, as Chuck Laird,...

Ventura County Snags Real Estate Mgrs.
May 8, 2006... The $2.6 billion Ventura County Employees Retirement Association has hired Guggenheim Partners Real Estate and RREEF to each oversee $25 million value-added real estate mandates, said Tim Thonis, the California plan's new administrator. ...

More Dirt Surfaces On N.H. Ex-Chair.
May 8, 2006... New evidence of conflict-of-interest violations committed by Ed Theobald-the former Board of Trustees chairman of the $4.5 billion New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS)-has reportedly surfaced. The new findings-a result of an investigation...

Northeast Securities Sets Up Alternative Offerings.
May 8, 2006... It is no big secret that institutional investors are continuously searching for alpha, savvy, but safe investment options and of course, a high rate of return. It was just these needs that lead New York-based boutique money management shop...

Hedge Funds Adjust to New Regulations.
May 8, 2006... The registration of hedge funds brings with it regulations that can affect the way portfolio managers get, and do, business, accourding to IMW's sister publication, Money Management Executive. Adapting to these Federal rules may mean it's time...

Odds & Ends.
May 8, 2006... *DWS Scudder-a division of Deutsche Asset Management-has appointed Regis Amarger as chairman and head of the Americas Investment Risk Oversight Committee for equity and fixed- income. He will be responsible for all investment risk management...

CalSTRS Issues Environmental RFP.
May 15, 2006... The $142 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) has issued an RFP for up to four managers to oversee environmentally focused sustainable investment strategies. The size of the mandates are yet been determined, but...

CalPERS Keeps Eye on High Yield Manager.
May 15, 2006... While the $200 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) renewed annual contracts with each of its four external high yield managers, the plan will closely monitor one of them, ING Ghent Asset Management, for...

ForstmannLeff Weathers the Storm: A New Day Dawns With Acquisition.
May 15, 2006... The end of 2005 proved to be a rough-and-tumble time for ForstmannLeff. As the former subsidiary of Refco Group Holdings, the firm was caught in the midst of a hailstorm, which saw former Refco CEO Phillip Bennett charged with securities...

Connecticut Plan Launches Dual Searches.
May 15, 2006... The $286 million City of Middletown Employees' Retirement System has issued RFPs for managers to oversee a $57 million domestic large-cap equity account and a $28 million international equity mandate. Details of the searches could not be...

Marlborough Issues Mid-Cap RFP.
May 15, 2006... The $65.7 million City of Marlborough Contributory Retirement System has issued an RFP for a core domestic mid-cap equity manager to oversee an account valued at between $3 million and $5 million. The portfolio will be benchmarked against the...

Canadian Fund Seeks Investment Consultant.
May 15, 2006... The City of St. Catharines has issued an RFP for an investment consultant to assist in the management of the newly created Community Development Reserve Fund. Robert Mansfield, purchasing agent for the Ontario, Canada-based fund, explained...

CalPERS Hires for Spring-Fed Pool.
May 15, 2006... The California Public Employees' Retirement System has hired 10 firms for its international developed and emerging markets equity spring-fed pool (See IMW, 8/15/05). According to the agenda in anticipation of the plan's May 15 meeting, AXA...

ICERS Contemplates Emerging Markets.
May 15, 2006... The board of the $308 million Imperial County Employees' Retirement System (ICERS) may implement an allocation to emerging markets following its next meeting in June. Tom Lightvoet, the California-based splan's consultant at Mercer...

Conn. Searches for Sudan Screening Firm.
May 15, 2006... Connecticut State Treasurer Denise Nappier has issued an RFP for a firm to provide Sudan research and investment screening services for the state's $22 billion Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (CRPTF). Bernard Kavaler,...

Oakland 911 Replaces Transamerica.
May 15, 2006... The $615 million Oakland Police and Fire Retirement System has hired Delaware Investments to oversee a domestic equity large-cap growth portfolio-a mandate previously awarded to Transamerica Investment Management. Last year, several...

Tacoma Rebalances High Yield Portfolio.
May 15, 2006... The $744 million Tacoma Employees' Retirement System has gleaned assets from several portfolios to fund high yield manager Post Advisory Group, according to the plan's Web site. Calls placed to Director Patricia Pabst, were referred to...

Mellon: Plan Sponsors Reap Results of Equity Returns.
May 15, 2006... International and domestic equity helped fuel positive returns for plan sponsors during the first quarter, according to Mellon Analytical Solutions' (MAS) U.S. Master Trust Universe. The median plan for the 502 funds surveyed posted a...

Pension Funding Levels on the Rise.
May 15, 2006... Wilshire Associates has released its 2006 Wilshire Report on Corporate Pension Funding Levels, a survey of 337 companies in the S&P 500 Index, and the results look good for corporate pension funding levels. "Things have improved over the...

Lindsay: FGA, The Last Frontier for Long-Only Equity.
May 15, 2006... It makes sense that Margaret Lindsay is bilingual in English and German. As a matter of fact, each of the seven people in her firm, Fiduciary Global Advisors (FGA), is bilingual in English and another foreign tongue. As it happens, Fiduciary...

Odds & Ends.
May 15, 2006... *Andrew McIntyre has been appointed director of corporate development for the Granby Industries Income Fund, where he will be responsible for developing and implementing initiatives to help the fund achieve its growth targets. McIntyre joins...

The SEC Versus The Mailman.
May 15, 2006... Jason Smith, a 29-year-old New Jersey letter carrier, was reportedly arrested on securities fraud charges. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against Smith, who allegedly leaked information while serving on a federal...

CalPERS: Show Me The Money.
May 22, 2006... Good news for the investment staff at the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). Reportedly, trustees at the $210 billion fund approved an immediate 1% pay increase for approximately 30 money managers. Additionally, the...

Texas School Fund Eyes Alternatives: Could Make First Foray in the Coming Months.
May 22, 2006... The $21 billion Texas Permanent School Fund could soon make its first foray into alternative assets, said spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe last week. At its next meeting in June, the board is expected to review and adopt a new long-term...

Sacramento To Start Large-Cap Search.
May 22, 2006... The board of the $5.1 billion Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System (SCERS) will search for a large-cap growth manager in the coming months. Jeff States, CIO, explained that the plan's consultant, Mercer Investment Consulting, is...

Consultant Use Continues to Dip, Survey Says.
May 22, 2006... Plan sponsor use of consultants is continuously declining, according to data compiled by the "Thomson Financial/ Nelson 2006 Annual Report of Pension Fund Consultants 2006". The survey includes data from over 400 pension fund consultancies....

BNY Out the Door on Another Account.
May 22, 2006... The $6 billion Los Angeles Water and Power Employees' Retirement Plan, has initiated a small-cap growth search to replace Bank of New York Asset Management (BNY) on a $100 million account. Neil Rue, the plan's consultant at Pension...

Mass. Fund Eyes New Consultant.
May 22, 2006... The $127 million Town of Wellesley Contributory Retirement System has launched a search for an investment consultant, a move that could possibly replace incumbent Mercer Investment Consulting. "Our consultant hasn't been terminated," said...

Seattle Looks at Unique Alternatives.
May 22, 2006... Investments in biofuels and PIPE (private investments in public equity) funds could be next on the plate for the $1.8 billion Seattle City Employees' Retirement System, said Mel Robertson, assistant executive director. The fund recently...

Arkansas Teachers Promotes JP Morgan.
May 22, 2006... The $9.8 billion Arkansas Teacher Retirement System has reportedly selected a new real estate manager for its stable. During a May 18 investment committee meeting, the fund opted to hire JP Morgan Fleming Asset Management for a $120 million...

Texas TRS Invests in More Real Estate.
May 22, 2006... The $100 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) will devote roughly $400 million to three real estate funds, said Howard Goldman, spokesman for the plan. Goldman said that the board, during its April 12 meeting, decided to invest...

Sterling Heights Hires for Smid-Cap.
May 22, 2006... The roughly $180 million Sterling Heights General Employees' Retirement System has hired Earnest Partners to oversee a $16 million smid-cap account, said Rick Sanborn, pension administrator for the Michigan-based plan. The firm, which was...

Louisiana Lawmakers Move to Enact Pension Legislation: Do the Crime, Get No Pension.
May 22, 2006... Louisiana lawmakers are in the midst of hashing out three Senate bills, that if passed, would take pension benefits away from state and local elected officials and public employees that are convicted of felonies related to their jobs. The...

Putnam Restructures After Resignation, Retirement.
May 22, 2006... An impending retirement and resignation at Putnam Investments has led to promotions for some of the firm's portfolio managers. Hugh Mullin, the former senior portfolio manager and portfolio leader for the Putnam Fund for Growth and Income,...

Long Term Thinking Key For High Yield.
May 22, 2006... Investing in high yield bonds is becoming increasingly attractive these days, but Brendan White, managing director and senior portfolio manager of Fort Washington Advisers' high yield strategy, contends that it pays to think longer term than...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
May 22, 2006... Fiduciary Global Advisors (FGA) is a subsidiary of Franklin Templeton and offers products in the areas of global equity, global real estate, and U.S. risk efficient equity. In the May 15 issue of Investment Management Weekly, FGA's offerings...

Odds & Ends.
May 22, 2006... *Old Mutual has appointed Scott Powers as the first CEO of Old Mutual (USA). Powers is presently the CEO of Old Mutual Asset Management. His new responsibilities will include overseeing the group's U.S. asset management and U.S. life...

Retired Teacher Fined Over Baseball and "Hairspray".
May 22, 2006... Hazel Sidaway, a 62 year-old retired elementary school teacher and former board member of the $59 billion State Teachers' Retirement System of Ohio, was found guilty of ethics violations for accepting gifts from investment managers while on the...

The Verdict Is In Lay and Skilling Go Down.
May 29, 2006... After a 14 week trial and six days of jury deliberation, Enron Corp.'s chief executives, Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, have been found guilty on numerous charges. Lay was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit fraud; two counts of...

LSERS Launches Emerging Markets Search.
May 29, 2006... The $1.5 billion Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System (LSERS) has launched a search for an international equity manager, said Julia LeBlanc, CIO at the fund. "We wanted to add an additional manager that would give us exposure to...

Illinois Teachers' Hunts for Smid, Large-Cap: Drops Sands Capital, Hires Managers.
May 29, 2006... The board of the $36.8 billion Teachers' Retirement System of Illinois (TRS) will be very busy in the upcoming months as it will launch searches for domestic equity managers and a real estate consultant, said Eva Goltermann, public information...

ACERA Changes Int. Equity Structure.
May 29, 2006... The board of the $3.9 billion Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association (ACERA) has reconfigured the structure of its international equity portfolio, a move which could potentially lead to investment manager searches. International...

Canadian Fund Eyes Int'l Assets.
May 29, 2006... The C$98 billion Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board has plans to further diversify its portfolio geographically, confirmed John Cappelletti, a spokesman for the plan. "With regard to geographical diversification, given that we...

Idaho Fund Names New Investment Pro.
May 29, 2006... The Idaho Endowment Fund Investment Board has appointed Christopher Halvorson as the new investment officer for the $1.5 billion fund. In this role, Halvorson will be responsible for overseeing the fund's 13 external asset managers. ...

Arkansas PERS Hires Managers.
May 29, 2006... The Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System (APERS) has reportedly hired two new investment managers for its $5.2 billion fund. At a May 16 board meeting, APERS awarded Stephens Investment Management a $50 million domestic equity...

Ohio PERS Preps Minority Mgr. Search.
May 29, 2006... The $68 billion Ohio Public Employees' Retirement System is taking its first steps toward the minority-owned manager search that it has been discussing since April (See IMW, 5/1/06). While the board was only considering the move earlier,...

Ohio SERS Chooses Summit Strategies.
May 29, 2006... The School Employees' Retirement System of Ohio has selected Summit Strategies Group to serve as consultant to the $10 billion plan. The selection ends a search that began in December and replaces Russell Investment Group (See IMW,...

Sacramento Hires for Small-Cap.
May 29, 2006... The $5.1 billion Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System (SCERS) has hired Bear Sterns Asset Management to manage a U.S. equity small-cap growth account worth between $65 and $67 million, said Jeff States, CIO of the California plan. ...

SFERS Chooses Real Estate Consultant.
May 29, 2006... The board of the $14 billion San Francisco Employees' Retirement System has selected The Townsend Group to continue as the plan's real estate consultant, said Claire Murphy, the executive director of the fund. Townsend, who has served the...

Oklahoma Cops Picks Finalists.
May 29, 2006... The $1.5 billion Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System has selected Attalus Capital and Rock Creek Group as finalists in the plan's long/short equity manager search. The search was reportedly launched early this year in an attempt...

It's A Go...Minnesota Plans Get Set to Merge.
May 29, 2006... A bill that needs only to be approved by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty-would allow for the merger of the $783 million Minneapolis Teacher's Retirement Fund Association (MTRFA) and the $17.5 billion Minnesota Teachers Retirement Association...

SWIB Restructures For Private Equity.
May 29, 2006... The $71 billion State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) won approval last week from its Board of Trustees to revise the investment guidelines of its $2 billion private equity portfolio, in an effort to be in line with market trends. The...

The Family That Steals Together...
May 29, 2006... A family associated with IPIC Investments-Greg Setser, the company's top executive; Charnelle Setser, daughter-in-law; Deborah Setser, sister; and their associate Thomas Henschke-are facing charges for allegedly stealing $65 million from...

Odds & Ends.
May 29, 2006... *The $7.8 billion Milwaukee Employees' Retirement System has promoted Thomas Rick to CIO. Rick has previously served as a pension investment analyst for the plan, but will now replace Jennifer Shannon, who left the CIO position in March. ...