Investment Management Weekly articles from September 2006

Investment Management Weekly archives from September 2006

Norwich City ERS Drops Advisor.
September 11, 2006... The $137 million Norwich City Employees Retirement System has terminated PRIME Asset Consulting in lieu of Fiduciary Investment Advisors (FIA), according to published reports. Reportedly, the Connecticut funds decision to hire the...

New York City Deputy Comptroller Steps Down.
September 11, 2006... As first reported on imweekly.com (9/6/06), Horatio Sparkes, deputy comptroller of pensions for the City of New York, has resigned from his position to join California-based private equity firm, The Yucaipa Companies. He also serves as a...

Illinois Teachers Seeks Large-Cap Manager.
September 11, 2006... The $36.8 billion Teachers Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS) has issued an RFP for a large-cap value manager to oversee a mandate of up to $400 million to be benchmarked against the Russell 1000 Value Index. This search is...

Value to Be Found in Terror-free Funds.
September 11, 2006... In the five years since the Sept. 11 attacks, terrorism has become a constant factor in the every day lives of Americanswhether it be the reports of new plots, the rainbow of threat levels that is far too often in a frightening color or even...

OCERS Gears Up for Twin Searches.
September 11, 2006... The $6.5 billion Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) is getting ready to commence with two searches after changes to the plans domestic fixed-income and international equity structures were approved at its last board meeting, said...

Worcester Seeks New Mid-Cap Manager.
September 11, 2006... The board of the $570 million Worcester Retirement System has issued an RFP for a mid-cap core domestic equity strategy, said James DelSignore, plan chairman and investment board member. He explained that the search is being conducted to...

Mass. Plan Launches Global A/A Search.
September 11, 2006... The board of the $112 million City of Lawrence Contributory Retirement System has issued an RFP for a global asset allocation mandate, in which the system plans to initially place approximately $11 million. Diane Cockcroft, administrator...

CalSTRS to Review Asset Shifts.
September 11, 2006... The $142.2 billion California State Teachers Retirement Systems (CalSTRS) private markets group will have to plead its case in front of the board annually and explain how its $11 billion allocation to private equity, buyout funds and untested...

Ancora Advisors Earns High Returns.
September 11, 2006... Within the last year Ancora Advisors has seen its assets under management increase from $150 million to $850 million, an increase of over 450%. This is the result of a strong team and savvy investment funds, said CEO Fred DiSanto. We...

Callan Faces Conflict of Interest Lawsuit.
September 11, 2006... A retired Illinois school superintendent is seeking class action status for a lawsuit he filed, which alleges that Callan Associates violated the Illinois Pension Code while serving as consultant for the $36.8 billion Teachers Retirement System...

IPO Surge Driving Venture Capital Market, Report Says.
September 11, 2006... A strong European IPO market is driving early-stage venture capital deals across the continent, according to a report released last week by Ernst & Young and Dow Jones Venture One. During the second quarter, venture capital investments in...

Scottish Widows Plots U.S. Invasion.
September 11, 2006... Scottish Widows Investment Partnership is on track to become a top emerging markets contender in the U.S., Chris Walker, managing director of the firms international division, told IMW. Were very much reentering the States, he said, adding...

Odds & Ends.
September 11, 2006... * Principle Real Estate Investors has appointed Christopher Aust director of acquisitions and dispositions, where he will be responsible for increasing the firms business in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. Prior to joining Principle, Aust...

We Couldnt Make This Up If We Tried!
September 11, 2006... Now, Thats An Expensive Raise! The state of Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) has ordered that 80 year-old Peter Arlos be removed from his position as treasurer of the $88 million Berkshire Regional...

CalPERS Addresses SEC.
September 18, 2006... The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asking that it take a good hard look and consider the views of investors at an upcoming meeting to discuss access to...

San Diego City to Launch Equity Search: Places Three on Watch.
September 18, 2006... According to the agenda for the Sept. 14 meeting of the board of the $3.13 billion San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS), the system is gearing up to search for an international equity growth manager. Calls to Doug McCalla,...

UVIMCO Eyes Private Equity, Real Estate.
September 18, 2006... The University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO) may ramp up its investments in private equity and real estate over the next few years, according to the University of Virginia Web site. An endowment report given at the...

Recession Likely for 2007?
September 18, 2006... The markets should take cover and prepare for a likely recession in 2007, said Hugh Moore, a partner at Guerite Advisors. The name Guerite comes from a medieval term describing a sentry's turret, which projects out of a castle bastion in...

NMPERA Takes Close Look at Alternatives.
September 18, 2006... The investment committee of the $11.5 billion New Mexico Public Employees' Retirement Association (NMPERA) had educational sessions on private equity, hedge funds, real estate, real assets and fund-of-funds strategies, as well as preparations...

CalPERS Considers Natural Resources.
September 18, 2006... Often at the forefront of investment trends, especially those with environmental impacts, the $215 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is considering creating a separate asset class for natural resources commodities...

...Adds To Corporate Goverance Portfolio.
September 18, 2006... The $215 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System's investment committee voted to add $600 million worth of new investments to its corporate governance portfolio at a Sept. 11 meeting. To make that jump, CalPERS plans to...

RCM Hires for Public Funds.
September 18, 2006... As first reported on imweekly.com (9/14/06), Victoria Grissom has joined RCM as the head of public funds sales, confirmed an official at the firm. She joins from JP Morgan Asset Management, where she was a client advisor in the...

LACERS Ups Emerging Managers Allocation.
September 18, 2006... At its Sept. 12 board meeting, the $10.5 billion Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS) approved a recommendation to increase the system's allocation to emerging managers fund-of-funds from $75 million to $100 million. ...

Search for Ark. Plan Director May Continue.
September 18, 2006... The search for a new executive director for the $10 billion Arkansas Teachers' Retirement System (ATRS), may be wrapping up...or it may not. According to local reports, the ATRS board narrowed the search to four candidates. The...

Mergers & Acquisitions: A Good Strategy for the Future?
September 18, 2006... Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity is on the rise and the situation is ripe for this activity to continue and for investors to capitalize on the trend, said Howard Horowitz, director of research for Water Island Capital's Arbitrage Fund at...

Numeric Investors Set for Change.
September 18, 2006... Numeric Investors is aiming to ramp up its business with new products in the pipeline, additions to its team and a change in leadership at the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm, said Langdon Wheeler, CIO and chairman. "We have for a number of...

Odds & Ends.
September 18, 2006... *GE Asset Management (GEAM) has appointed William Daley as senior VP, where he will be responsible for helping the firm develop client relationships in the northeastern U.S. across all asset classes. Prior to joining GEAM, Daley was a senior VP...

Climate-Friendly Investments to Surge.
September 25, 2006... The Cleantech Venture Network predicts that clean technology venture capital investments opportunities for institutional investors through 2009 are estimated at $17 billion, $10 billion of which is in North America. Over the past 18...

LACERA Pumps UP RE Investments.
September 25, 2006... The Los Angeles County Employees' Retirement Association (LACERA) plans to boost its real estate portfolio by $600 million, allocating new capital and creating separate allocations within the portfolio for core, value-added and high-return...

CIO at Houston Muni to Retire.
September 25, 2006... As first reported on imweekly.com (9/20/06), Neal Wallach, CIO of the Houston Municipal Employees' Pension System (HMEPS), will retire at the end of the month. He has been with the fund for more than 14 years and was the first investment...

Let the Electioneering Begin: Hedge Funds Get Political.
September 25, 2006... The U.S. midterm elections are approaching fast, in a year where experts predict real shake-ups in the House and Senate, and politicians across the nation are working to polish their rhetoric and prepare platforms that reflect the issues that...

Fla. Fund Hunts for Timber Manager.
September 25, 2006... The $304 million City of Fort Lauderdale Employees' Retirement System is searching for a timber manager, confirmed David Desmond, administrator at the Florida fund. "This is our first foray," he said. "We wanted to look at additional asset...

Brookline Looks for Real Estate Manager.
September 25, 2006... The $175 million Town of Brookline Contributory Retirement System has issued an RFP for a value-added real estate manager to oversee an approximately $5 million account. Calls to Frank Zecha, the Massachusett's plan's director, seeking...

Iowa PERS Looks Into Portable Alpha.
September 25, 2006... The nearly $20 billion Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS) could soon be issuing a series of RFPs to look into portable alpha, said Karl Koch, an investment officer with the plan. He explained that it all depended on an...

Santa Barbara Hires Bond Manager.
September 25, 2006... The $1.6 billion Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System (SBCERS) selected Julius Baer Investment Management to manage a $142 million core plus fixed-income account for the plan, said Oscar Peters, retirement administrator for SBCERS....

Texas TRS Approves New Investments.
September 25, 2006... The $100 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) approved two new investments and made additions to two of its pre-approved funds lists at the plan's meeting on Sept. 14 and 15. Howard Goldman, spokesman for the TRS, said that the...

PSERS Approves New Investments.
September 25, 2006... The board of the $30 billion Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) approved investments that could total up to $180 million at its Sept. 13 meeting. The board approved two real estate investments: up to $35 million in the...

Penn. School ERS Hires Managers.
September 25, 2006... The board of the $52 billion Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PA PSERS) approved investments in two funds at a Sept. 15 meeting, said Evelyn Tatkovski, spokeswoman for the plan. The board approved investments of up...

San Joaquin Picks For Fixed-Income.
September 25, 2006... The financial board of the $1.9 billion San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement Association (SJCERA) discussed the selection of Stone Harbor Investment Partners to manage a $140 million multi-strategy total return fixed-income account for the...

New Jersey Board Approves Investments?
September 25, 2006... The New Jersey State Investment Council was expected to discuss investments in private equity, real estate and hedge funds at its Sept. 21 meeting. According to the agenda, the board was set to approve an investment in the Audax Mezzanine...

DPSRS Picks Director; Interim Resigns.
September 25, 2006... The $2.6 billion Denver Public Schools Retirement System (DPSRS) has made its final selection for a new executive director. After a long search, the board has selected Norman Ruggles to fill the position left by the departure of Bob Scott (See...

Qwest Replaces Investment Officer.
September 25, 2006... Qwest Asset Management has named Kathleen Lutito president and CIO as the result of Kimberly Walker's departure, said Diane Reberger, spokeswoman for the firm. Walker stepped down from her position at Qwest to become the CIO of the $5...

COPERA Issues RFP.
September 25, 2006... The $36 billion Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association (COPERA) has launched a search for a new actuarial consultant. "The actuarial RFP is the result of the board's desire to go to bid for COPERA's vendors and consultants every...

Odds & Ends.
September 25, 2006... *John Meyers has joined ForstmannLeff as chairman, effective Oct. 1. Meyers was most recently the president and CEO of GE Asset Management, with whom he had worked for 37 years. *New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM) has made three...

We Couldn't Make This Up If We Tried!
September 25, 2006... Go Easy On Him, He's Embarassed Tom Noe has been sentenced to 27 months in a federal prison for three charges against him of violating federal election laws. Noe is not only in trouble for admitting to making illegal campaign donations to...