Investment Management Weekly articles from October 2008

Investment Management Weekly archives from October 2008

Senate Approves Bailout Plan.(At Press Time)
October 6, 2008... Byline: Editorial Staff The Senate approved a modified version of the bailout plan that was rejected by the House of Representatives on Monday. The plan included a one-year increase on the limit for insured bank deposits from $100,000...

Many Promising Alternative Investments Exist, But You Never Know What You'll Get.(Industry at a Glance)
October 6, 2008... Byline: Jakema Lewis Alternative investments-including hedge funds, private equity, venture capital and commodities-have long been touted as the answer to plan sponsors' numerous investment challenges. With the S&P 500 down approximately...

Institutional Investors Bullish On Bailout Plan.
October 6, 2008... Byline: Editorial Staff The majority of investors polled by Greenwich Associates in a recent study feel that the approval of a financial bailout package would help restore stability to the economy. According to the survey, 70% of...

FCERA Moves to Implement New A/A.
October 6, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo At a meeting last week, the board of the Fresno County Employees' Retirement Association (FCERA) approved recommendations made by consultant Wurts & Associates, on how to implement its newly adopted asset allocation,...

Illinois Plans Launch Joint RE Search.
October 6, 2008... Byline: Jakema Lewis Ennis Knupp + Associates has issued an RFP for a joint search being conducted by the $24 billion Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), the $15 billion Illinois State Universities Retirement System (SURS) and the...

Big Apple Funds Eye Small-Cap Equity.
October 6, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The New York City Retirement Systems (NYCRS) has issued an RFP for U.S. equity active small-cap managers. NYCRS includes the employees', teachers', police, fire and board of education plans. While the board is...

New Hampshire Looks At Two Asset Classes.(General News)
October 6, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The New Hampshire Retirement System will be making changes to its international equity structure based on recommendations made by Ennis Knupp + Associates According to recently released minutes from the investment...

LA Guns & Hoses Considers Private Equity Fund.(General News)
October 6, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions (LAFPP) considered a new private equity investment last week. According to the agenda for a board meeting, consultant The StepStone Group recommended that the fund invest...

Orlando Picks Investment Consultant.(General News)
October 6, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The $987.2 million City of Orlando Pension System has hired NEPC to serve as its new investment consultant, according to the minutes from the plan's September meeting. The selection ends a search that began earlier...

Pa. School Fund Adds to Manager Roster.(General News)
October 6, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) has added Westridge Capital Management to its stable of managers, said Evelyn Tatkovski, spokeswoman for the $62.7 billion plan. The firm will...

Odds & Ends.(Odds & Ends)
October 6, 2008... Byline: Editorial Staff * Lord, Abbett & Co. has appointed 17 new partners, bringing the firm's total number of partners to 62. Among the hires are Michael Lesesne, director of research for fixed-income and high-yield, Elizabeth MacLean,...

New Hampshire Plan Files Divestment Suit.(At Press Time)
October 13, 2008... Byline: Editorial Staff The New Hampshire Judicial Retirement Plan has filed suit in Superior Court in Concord, New Hampshire questioning the constitutionality of a law passed in the spring barring the state's pension systems from...

Odds & Ends.(Odds & Ends)
October 13, 2008... Byline: Editorial Staff * Jarratt Ramsey has joined Agecroft Partners as its fifth managing director. Agecroft Partners is a hedge fund third party marketing firm. Ramsey will focus on assisting with due diligence on potential hedge funds...

Wisconsin Quant Manager Adds Research Pro.(General news)
October 13, 2008... Byline: Jakema Lewis Midwest Asset Management has hired Stephen Smart as director of fixed-income research, said James Byrd, president and director of research at the firm. Smart is filling a newly created position, which was developed...

Massachusetts Plan Loses Administrator.(General news)
October 13, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The administrator of the Springfield Contributory Retirement System, Colleen Trahan, has resigned after nearly 20 years heading the system. According to published reports, Trahan resigned just days after the...

Boise Endowment to Pursue Mid-Cap.
October 13, 2008... Byline: Jakema Lewis The $1.1 billion Idaho Endowment Fund Investment Board (EFIB) is making arrangements to launch a search for a mid-cap growth manager, Larry Johnson, manager of investments at the plan told IMW, following its recent...

N.Y. Life Insurer Conducts Searches.
October 13, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The New York Liquidation Bureau (NYLB) has issued two RFPs on behalf of Executive Life Insurance Company of New York (ELNY). The NYLB "administers the affairs of insurance companies that are in court-ordered...

Managers Weigh Fair Value Rule.
October 13, 2008... Byline: Dave Lindorff The comment period ended last Thursday on a proposal by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the SEC's Office of Chief Accountant that, if adopted, would "ease up" on the FASB's requirement that the...

Washington State Seeks Index Managers.(General news)
October 13, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) wants to hear from firms who provide index related products. According to a recently issued RFP, the plan will focus primarily on non-U.S. equity products, but is also...

Florida Plan Hunts For Large-Cap.(General news)
October 13, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The $60 million Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Retirement Plan has issued an RFP for a large-cap core equity firm. According to the RFP, both active and passive strategies will be considered in the search. The...

Florida Plans Replace Northern Trust.(General news)
October 13, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The City of Rockledge Retirement Systems, which includes the $7.96 million employees' plan, the $6.61 million police employees' plan, and the $6.15 million fire employees' plan, recently opted to terminate Northern...

California PERS Moves To Fill Vacancies.(General news)
October 13, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The board of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has hired Korn/Ferry International to assist with its search for a new senior portfolio manager to oversee the plan's $5 billion corporate...

Arizona Safety Fund Makes Commitments.(General news)
October 13, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The board of the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) gave the approval for a $90 million investment in Highland Capital Management's Collateralized Loan Obligations Value Fund, as well as a $50...

Marco Creates New Position, Shuffles Roles.(At Press Time)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Editorial Staff The Marco Consulting Group (MCG) has promoted Jodie Gunzberg to the newly created position of chief investment strategist, where she will focus on the firm's asset allocation and portfolio structuring capabilities....

Marin County Narrows Private Equity Search.(General News)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The Marin County Employees' Retirement Association (MCERA) heard presentations from Abbott Capital Management, Mesirow Financial, Pathway Capital Management and Portfolio Advisors in its search for a private equity...

San Fran Eyes New Alternative Funds.(General News)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Jakema Lewis The San Francisco Employees Retirement System was slated to make commitments to three alternative funds at a meeting last Tuesday. According to the agenda, the investments in question were commitments of up to $34...

Odds & Ends.(Odds & Ends)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Editorial Staff * The entire international equity team from Bear Stearns Asset Management (BSAM) is joining Mesirow Finance as of Nov. 1. Leila Heckman, the team's leader, will join the firm as senior managing director and head of...

Invesco Adds to Marketing Team.(industry at a glance)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Jakema Lewis Michael Mondo has joined Invesco as a senior director for its institutional sales and service team, the firm announced last week. Invesco spokesman Bill Hensel said this a new position at the firm. Mondo was...

Coast Adds Marketing Chief.(industry at a glance)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo Coast Asset Management has hired Timothy Holmes as managing director and head of institutional marketing and investor relations for North America, effective immediately. Prior to joining Coast, Holmes worked in...

Managerial Expertise: As markets gyrate, focus on hedge fund managers' performance gets closely scrutinized.(industry at a glance)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Gerelyn Terzo The Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System (HPRS) is going where many other endowment funds shudder to go right now. While some, including the School Employees Retirement System of the same state, are suspending all...

Consultant Sought for Arizona STO.
October 20, 2008... Byline: Jakema Lewis The Arizona State Treasurer's Office (STO) is seeking an investment advisor. Klint Tegland, deputy treasurer of operations for the STO, said that the search is being conducting due to the current economic...

New Hampshire Plan Kick Starts Search.
October 20, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The board of the Manchester Employees' Contributory Retirement System (MECRS) is conducted a short-list search for small- to mid-cap equity managers, said Gerard Fluery, executive director at the $150 million New...

Bank Loan Market Eyes Plan Sponsors: Investors Turn To Pension Funds To Ease Liquidity Woes.
October 20, 2008... Byline: Richard Kellerhals An increasing number of loan investors have been seeking capital from pension funds to ease their liquidity squeeze. But while some plan sponsors have made the leap into the loan market, others have had cold feet...

CalPERS Narrows Search For Bond Pool.(General News)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Marac Sorondo The investment committee of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) will review staff recommendations in its search for high yield fixed-income managers for a spring-refreshed pool today,...

Imperial County Hires PIMCO for Fixed-Income.(General News)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) has been added to Imperial County Employees' Retirement System's (ICERS) fixed-income manager roster, David Prince, administrator of the $550 million California plan,...

NEPC in At Arizona Safety Plan.(General News)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) has selected NEPC to serve as its new general investment consultant. Jim Hacking, administrator of the $7.3 billion plan, said that the selection is...

LA Police & Fire Looks At Private Equity.(General News)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The board of the Los Angeles Fire & Police Pension Plan (LAFPP) heard recommendations regarding three private equity investments at its meeting last week, according to the agenda. Aldus Equity Partners recommended...

City of San Diego Considers RE Advisors.(General News)
October 20, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo Callan Associates, Courtland Partners and the The Townsend Group were considered by the investment committee of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS) in its search for a real estate investment...

Plans Experience Another Rough Quarter.(At Press Time)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Editorial Staff Recent data compiled by the Northern Trust Universe has revealed that most plan sponsors reported a fourth consecutive quarter of negative results for the period ending Sept. 30, 2008. The Northern Trust...

Odds & Ends.(Odds & Ends)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Editorial Staff * Nomura Securities has named Dean Chamberlain and Sotaro Kato co-heads of fixed-income, where they replace Hirofumi Misawa. Misawa will now head the effort to integrate Lehman Brothers' fixed-income into the firm....

Tulare Nears Index Manager Selection.(News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The investment committee of the Tulare County Employees' Retirement Association (TCERA) reviewed due diligence reports for two potential large-cap core enhanced index managers and is set to make recommendations to the...

CalPERS Adds To Fixed-Income Manager Pool.(News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The investment committee of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) added six non-investment grade bond managers and three leveraged loan managers to a pool of high yield fixed-income managers last...

Alaska Permanent Fund Names New CIO.(Industry At A Glance)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo Jeffrey Scott has been hired as the new CIO at the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC), effective Nov. 17, where he will take over as the top investment executive overseeing the plan's $29.6 billion in assets. ...

Executive Director Search Is Underway at NHRS.(Industry At A Glance)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The New Hampshire Retirement System has hired executive search firm EFL Associates to help select a new executive director at the plan, according to its Web site. "EFL was selected out of a pool of five executive...

Putnam Picks up Two from RiverSource.(Industry At A Glance)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Jakema Lewis Putnam Investments has added Nick Thakore and Robert Ewing to its large-cap equity team. Both will serve as managing directors and portfolio managers. Aside from being leaders for the firm's large-cap value team,...

Santa Barbara Conducts A/L Study.(News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System (SBCERS) was due to hear a presentation on international real estate investing from PCA Real Estate at a board meeting last Wednesday, confirmed Tom Ford,...

Alaska Board Hunts For RE Advisor.(News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The Alaska Retirement Management Board (ARMB) is in the market for a real estate consultant to assist with its $1.8 billion real estate portfolio. The plan has a 12.5% allocation to the asset class, the RFP issued...

Robeco Sees Value in Large-Cap.(News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Dave Lindorff If you are a portfolio manager with a strategy of looking for individual companies that are undervalued and that stand a good chance of showing significant appreciation over the long term, you might think that right...

Brookline Hunts For New Consultant.(General News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo In a move that could potentially replace incumbent Meketa Investment Group, the roughly $227 million Brookline Retirement System has launched a search for an investment consultant. Calls to Frank Zecha,...

Kansas Seeks Transition Managers.(General News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The Kansas Public Employees' Retirement System (KPERS) is seeking one or more transition managers to oversee the movement of funds among various asset classes, managers and investment strategies, according to an RFP...

Ann Arbor ERS Makes Hedge Fund Foray.(General News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Jakema Lewis The Ann Arbor Employees' Retirement System has made its first investment with hedge fund-of-funds managers. Last month, the board at the Michigan plan voted to invest $5 million each with HRJ Capital and BlackRock...

City of Phoenix Meets with Real Estate Finalists.(News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo Last week, the City of Phoenix Employees' Retirement System (COPERS) interviewed three firms as finalists for an opportunistic global private equity real estate mandate, according to the agenda for the board's Oct. 22...

CalPERS Losses One-Fifth of Total Assets.(News)
October 27, 2008... Byline: Marc Sorondo The country's largest pension fund, the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), has reportedly dropped approximately 20% since July 1 due to the dismal condition of the market in recent months. ...