Investment Management Weekly articles from September 2005

Investment Management Weekly archives from September 2005

LaSERS Is Back In Commission After Katrina.
September 12, 2005... As the clean up and recovery efforts continue in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina-described as one of the most destructive storms to ever hit the U.S.-the $7 billion Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System has returned to business as...

Despite Obstacles, It's Business as Usual.
September 12, 2005... The states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama may not be known as the center of the financial universe. But when a devastatingly powerful Hurricane Katrina began bearing down on New Orleans and several other Gulfport cities two weeks ago, at...

Contra Costa Eyes Progress Investment.
September 12, 2005... The $3.3 billion Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association has placed Progress Investment Management on watch, a move that has come as a result of several personnel changes at the firm in recent months. Full details of the...

Va. Plan Launches Large-Cap Search.
September 12, 2005... The $175 million City of Danville Employees' Retirement System has initiated a search for a large-cap value manager to oversee a $15 million mandate. Barbara Dameron, the plan's newly appointed director of finance, said that the search was...

Marin County Drops Putnam Investments.
September 12, 2005... The $1.1 billion Marin County Employees' Retirement Association has terminated Putnam Investments from an international core equity portfolio-valued at $89 million-for performance issues, said Maggie Johnston, the plan's assistant retirement...

Real Estate Search Afoot In San Jose.
September 12, 2005... The $1.5 billion San Jose Federated City Employees' Retirement System has finally launched its RFP for a commingled real estate manager. As first reported by IMW in June, the plan was in the early stages of preparing an RFP. At that time,...

N.H. Plan Launches Consultant Search.
September 12, 2005... The $4.7 billion New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) has initiated an RFP for an investment consultant, a move which could potentially unseat incumbent, Evaluation Associates. Kim France, the plan's spokeswoman, said that the firm would...

Chicago Teachers Eye Two Managers.
September 12, 2005... The $10 billion Public School Teachers' Pension and Retirement Fund of Chicago has placed both Northern Trust Global Advisors and Progress Investment Management on watch on their respective manager-of-managers portfolios due to "significant...

New Mexico Hires Two for Smid-Cap.
September 12, 2005... The $9.5 billion New Mexico Public Employees' Retirement Association has hired TimesSquare Capital Management and Voyageur Asset Management to each manage $200 million in smid-cap growth accounts, said Robert Gish, director of investments. ...

Cerulli Report: Need For Institutional Managers On the Rise Total U.S. AUM Reach $21 Trillion.
September 12, 2005... Due to today's wide array of investment options, the demand for asset management has sky rocketed, but the industry cannot expect similar growth in the future, according to a new report from Cerulli Associates, "Evaluating Asset Manager...

Gartmore Hires for Small-Cap Team.
September 12, 2005... In a move to expand its small-cap investment team and boost its $24.3 billion in assets under management, Gartmore Global Investments has hired Jayne Stevlingson as VP and senior portfolio manager,-a newly created position, said Edward Dunne,...

Research Firm Hires President, Launches Asset Mgmt Group.
September 12, 2005... TrimTabs Investment Research-an independent research service that publishes daily coverage on U.S. stock market liquidity, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds-has just announced the hire of Conrad Gann as president and chief...

Portfolio Managers Grapple With Katrina's Exact Impact.
September 12, 2005... As the nation's money managers return from their summer respites, they're finding that Hurricane Katrina has left a host of questions marks within their portfolios. Before Katrina rocked the Gulf Coast, the industry knew what might impact...

Odds & Ends.
September 12, 2005... *Angeles Investment Advisors-has hired Shana Mulkerin as its newest consultant. She will be responsible for client relationships. Prior to her hire, Mulkerin was a senior associate at Wilshire Associates. *Credit Suisse Asset...

Chapman Goes Back to Court.
September 19, 2005... Nathan Chapman Jr., convicted of defrauding the State Retirement & Pension System of Maryland has yet to pay the $215,000 settlement. In June, Chapman admitted wrongdoing and agreed to pay the settlement within 60 days. Chapman was given...

Santa Barbara Eyes Long-Time Equity Manager.
September 19, 2005... The $1.2 billion Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System has placed Starbuck, Tisdale and Associates on watch on a $147 million domestic equity account for performance issues, said Oscar Peters, plan administrator. According to...

Ohio BWC Seeks Full Retainer Consultant.
September 19, 2005... In a move to correct a series of missteps and blunders in recent months, the $15 billion Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) has launched a search for a full retainer investment consultant. Jeremy Jackson, spokesman, said that Callan...

Texas ERS Issues Small-Cap Growth RFI.
September 19, 2005... The $21 billion Employees' Retire-ment System of Texas will initiate an RFI later this week for a small-cap growth manager; a move which could potentially replace incumbent manager Bank of New York (BNY). According to Nelson's...

S.F. to Search for Emerging Manager.
September 19, 2005... The $13.4 billion San Francisco Employees' Retirement System is gearing up to issue an RFP for an emerging markets equity manager to oversee approximately $300 million, said David Kushner, the plan's deputy director of investments. "It's...

LACERA Issues EAFE Manager Search.
September 19, 2005... The $32 billion Los Angeles County Employees' Retirement Association, has finally issued its RFP for an EAFE manager to oversee a mandate between $300-400 million, said Lisa Mazzocco, plan CIO. "The size of the mandate would depend on the...

NYCRS Vets Open Private Equity Firm.
September 19, 2005... Two former New York City investment officers have teamed up to form a new private equity shop, Partnership Equity. The firm is based in New York. Managing Partner Adam Blumenthal is New York City's former deputy comptroller and CFO, once...

Montana Appoints New CIO.
September 19, 2005... The $9.6 billion Montana Board of Investments has hired Cliff Sheets as its new CIO. Sheets-who has 28 years of investment experience in the private sector-replaces James Penner, who retired last year after 20 years with the investment board,...

New Mexico Picks Three for Hedge Fund.
September 19, 2005... The $12.5 billion New Mexico State Investment Council has signed contracts with Benchmark, K-2 Advisors and Circle Trust Company to manage a portion of a $1 billion allocation to hedge fund-of-funds. The specific amount that each firm will...

AHB Forges Alliance With Midwest Bank.
September 19, 2005... Abner, Herrman & Brock (AHB), the Jersey City, N.J., investment management firm, has established a partnership with Wichita, Kan.-based bank INTRUST. AHB provides sub-advisory services on the bank's fixed-income portfolio. "They were...

Greenwich Report Warns: Don't Leave Transition Management to Chance.
September 19, 2005... One of the main responsibilities of a transition manager is the minimization of loss during the transition process, and over the last 10 years the average cost associated with the transition process has dropped significantly due to the use of...

Fidelity Ups Ante on Institutional Push; Plans to Boost Assets to $2 Trillion by 2010.
September 19, 2005... Fidelity Investments is used to being at the top of the ladder of success. However, the nation's No. 1 fund firm always sees room for improvement, most recently in managing money for large institutions. Fidelity Management Trust Co.(FMTC)...

California Passes Anti-Disclosure Bill.
September 19, 2005... Venture capitalists, your secrets are safe- at least with the state of California. According to a bill recently passed by the state's legislature, California's pensioners can ask to see how much of their retirement has been lost-or...

CalSTRS Boosts Private Equity Investments.
September 19, 2005... Over the last 12 months, the California State Teachers' Retirement System has pumped $3.3 billion into the private equity markets, investing more capital at a quicker pace than it ever has before in the asset class. In a report to the...

Odds & Ends.
September 19, 2005... *Putnam Investments, PanAgora Asset Management, and Integra Capital Management Corporation have formed a joint venture called Putnam PanAgora Integra Canada (PPI Canada). This venture intends to provide Canadian investors with a full range...

Texas Plans Brace for Hurricane Rita.
September 26, 2005... In preparation for the onset of Hurricane Rita, several Southeast Texas pension funds and investment managers have either closed up shop or made alternative arrangements. Phone calls and visits to the Web site of several pension funds,...

Colorado PERA Revamps Management Structure.
September 26, 2005... When things go south, don't blame the markets. Blame the management. Faulting "an outmoded and ineffective governance regime" at the Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association for a $12.8 billion unfunded liability, a commission...

Cincinnati Asks Money Managers to Lower Fees.
September 26, 2005... In an attempt to rectify its current underfunded status, the $2.2 billion City of Cincinnati Retirement System, has asked its investment managers to reduce management fees to between 15% and 20%. Daniel Radford, the board's chairman sent a...

New Hampshire Governor Nominates Board Chair.
September 26, 2005... The $4.7 billion New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) may soon have a new board chairman. New Hampshire Governor John Lynch nominated Charlton McVeagh, former director of the Crotched Mountain Foundation, during a Sept. 21 Governor and...

Texas Teachers Hunt for Real Estate PM.
September 26, 2005... The $91 billion Teachers' Retirement System of Texas is searching for a real estate portfolio manager, said Howard Goldman, plan spokesman. Goldman explained that the board had recently allocated funds to the plan's real estate allocation...

Cap Guardian Stays on Watch in Ventura.
September 26, 2005... The $2.4 billion Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association (VCERA) decided, during a Sept. 19 board meeting, to maintain its relationship with Capital Guardian Trust Co. The firm, which manages a $250 million international equity...

CalPERS Hires for Corporate Governance.
September 26, 2005... Dennis Johnson has joined the California Public Employees' Retirement System as a senior portfolio manager with the $196 billion plan's corporate governance group. Most recently a managing director with Citigroup Global Markets, Johnson will...

Two Plead Guilty in Illinois Fiasco.
September 26, 2005... The investigation surrounding the $31 billion Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois continues with some dramatic new developments. Two Chicago attorneys, Steven Loren and Joseph Cari have reportedly plead guilty to having...

SDCERS Selects Two Board Members.
September 26, 2005... The $3.64 billion San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS) has appointed James Waring and Thomas Hebrank as its newest board members. Waring, who is an attorney with Ross, Dixon, & Bell and co-founder of a diversified real...

SDCERS Searches for Fixed-Income Investment Officer.
September 26, 2005... The San Diego City Retirement System is searching for a senior investment officer to assist the CIO on a $1.2 billion fixed-income portfolio, said Shahid Mahmud, the plan's incumbent senior investment officer. Mahmud, in a written...

Alternative Investments to Reach All-Time Highs.
September 26, 2005... Allocations to hedge funds, real estate and private equity are expected to reach record levels by 2007, but investment in hedge funds is expected to outpace them all, according to a survey of 327 institutional investors worldwide by the Tacoma,...

AIA Touts Absolute Return Strategy.
September 26, 2005... With the stock market seemingly stuck in a holding pattern and Hurricane Katrina's epic destruction of a major American city raising questions about the strength and even the whole future direction of the U.S. economy, investors understandably...

Odds & Ends.
September 26, 2005... *Former Securities and Exchange Commission Division Director Irving Pollack, and SEC Enforcement Specialist Laurence Storch have joined the Washington, D.C. law office of Fulbright & Jaworski. Both Pollack and Storch will focus on securities...