Investment Management Weekly articles from September 2007

Investment Management Weekly archives from September 2007

Read Sticks By Private Equity.
September 10, 2007... Russell Read, CIO of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, defended the private equity market at a Senate hearing last Thursday. According to published reports, Read testified during a finance committee hearing that CalPERS...

San Jose Terminates Globalt.
September 10, 2007... The $2.7 billion San Jose Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan removed GLOBALT Investments from a roughly $45 million large-cap growth account at its meeting last month, Donna Busse, an investment officer at the California plan, told IMW....

Missouri Plan Severs Ties with Value Firm.
September 10, 2007... The $850 million Police and Civilian Employees' Retirement System of Kansas City has terminated Vontobel Asset Management from a domestic equity account, confirmed Jim Pyle, manager at the plan. He declined to specify the reason for...

Asset Managers Hot on M&A Trail.
September 10, 2007... Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the asset management industry is booming, and demand is not likely to stop anytime soon, nor are the competitive prices buyers are willing to pay for the deals. However, market turmoil and a more...

Mass. Plan Searches for Large-Cap.
September 10, 2007... The Cambridge Retirement System has issued an RFP for a large-cap growth equity manager to oversee an account of approximately $70 million at the Massachusetts plan. Additionally details regarding the search were unclear, as calls to Ellen...

Andover Seeks Replacement Firm.
September 10, 2007... The $96 million Andover Contributory Retirement System has issued an RFP for an international equity manager to replace The Boston Company Asset Management, said Elena Kothman, administrator at the Massachusetts plan. Kothman said that The...

Pennsylvania Plan Chooses Finalists.
September 10, 2007... The Pleasant Ridge Manor Retirement Board has narrowed its search for balanced investment firms to manage the $28 million employees' pension plan down to three finalists. According to the Web site of the plan's consultants, Morrison...

ACERA Makes Manager Hires.
September 10, 2007... The $5.3 billion Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association (ACERA) has selected three firms to manage a total of $150 million in real estate investments. Each of the three managers-BlackRock Granite Property Fund, JPMorgan Asset...

LA 911 Looks at More Real Estate.
September 10, 2007... The $15.6 billion Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions (LAFPP) discussed new potential real estate investments at its meeting last week, according to the plan's Web site. The agenda states that the board considered recommendations from...

Kansas PERS Hires Investment Pro.
September 10, 2007... Donald Lennard has been appointed real estate investment officer at the $14 billion Kansas Public Employees' Retirement System (KPERS), confirmed Vince Smith, the plan's CIO. Prior to joining KPERS, Lennard was most recently director of...

California Teachers' Gets Pay Day.
September 10, 2007... The State of California must pay the $169 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) money that was supposed to go to the system in fiscal year 2003-2004, based on a recent ruling by the California's Third District Court of...

Odds & Ends.
September 10, 2007... Atlanta Life Investment Advisors has hired Marc Syndor as director of client services. He will report to Ronald Brown, president at the firm. Syndor joins from MDL Capital Management where he was a senior economist and equity portfolio manager....

New York State Changes Conflict Rules.
September 17, 2007... New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has adopted new rules regarding the hiring of money managers in the hopes of preventing conflicts-of-interest, or even the appearance of such conflicts, in the state's investment decisions. The...

Iowa Funds Peruse International Equity Options.
September 17, 2007... The Iowa State Treasurer's Office has issued an RFP on behalf of the $280 million Iowa Public Safety Peace Officers' Retirement, Accident, and Disability System (PORS) and the $86.5 million Iowa Judicial Retirement System (JRS) for...

Segal Client Launches Consultant Search.
September 17, 2007... As first reported on imweekly.com (9/12/07), the upcoming departure of consultant Kevin Leonard from Segal Advisors has already prompted one pension plan to launch a search for a possible replacement firm. Leonard has accepted a position...

L.A. County Could Boost Real Estate Investments.
September 17, 2007... The roughly $40 billion Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) considered a $900 million boost to its real estate allocation last week, according to the agenda from the board of investments' (BOI) Sept. 12 meeting. ...

Mass. Plan Hunts For Growth.
September 17, 2007... The Woburn Retirement System is seeking a manager to oversee a $5 million domestic equity portfolio for the plan, according to the Web site of its consultant Wainwright Investment Counsel. The $109 million Massachusetts plan will invest the...

CalSTRS Seeks Currency Managers.
September 17, 2007... The $169 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) is hunting for up to four external currency managers to oversee a portion of the plan's non-U.S. equity portfolio. Sherry Reser, spokeswoman for the plan, explained...

Essex Begins Two Manager Searches.
September 17, 2007... The $278.6 million Essex Regional Retirement System has issued RFPs for a large-cap core equity manager and a private equity fund-of-funds manager to oversee $60 million and $8 million, respectively. Timothy Bassett, the Massachusetts...

New Mexico PERA Looks at Funds.
September 17, 2007... The $11.5 billion New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association (NMPERA) considered investing in an international equity EAFE account with State Street Global Advisors at its meeting last Tuesday. According to the agenda, the board...

Nursing Facility Completes Search.
September 17, 2007... The board of the Pleasant Ridge Manor Employees' Pension Plan has made a final selection in its search for a balanced investment manager to oversee a portion of the plan's assets, Frank Burnette, the plan's consultant with Morrison Fiduciary...

Managers Selected at Florida Plan.
September 17, 2007... Two searches have come to an end for the $351 million Fort Lauderdale General Employees' Retirement System (GERS), said David Desmond, the Florida plan's administrator. At a Sept. 6 meeting, the board selected WEDGE Capital Management to...

Endowment Hires First CIO.
September 17, 2007... Michael Condon has been named CIO of the University of Arkansas System, the first ever for the $1.2 billion fund. He will join the plan Oct. 1 from the Georgia Tech Foundation where he was CIO. Reportedly, the Arkansas endowment plan...

Indiana PERF Adds To Board.
September 17, 2007... Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has appointed Kevin Boehnlein to the board of the $17.2 billion Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund (PERF) for a two-year term, according to a statement issued by PERF. The statement also notes that...

Michigan Fund Hunts for New Manager.
September 17, 2007... The City of Grand Rapids has issued an RFP for an investment manager to oversee the city's $5 million Medicare Supplemental Trust Fund, which exists to help retirees with their healthcare costs. According to the RFP, the Michigan fund has...

SBCERA Okays Real Estate Investments.
September 17, 2007... The San Bernardino County Employees' Retirement Association (SBCERA) recently approved four real estate investments, said Don Pierce, an investment officer with the $6 billion California plan. At its Sept. 6 meeting, the SBCERA board...

Odds & Ends.
September 17, 2007... * Mark Johnson has been promoted to senior VP and head of structured products at GE Asset Management (GEAM), the firm announced last week. He will report directly to Paul Colonna, president and CIO of fixed-income. Johnson was most recently a...

Buy Side Turns to Multi-Asset Systems: Increasing Use of Alternative Investments Driving Interest.
September 17, 2007... Investment firms are increasingly turning to multi-asset portfolio systems, as they provide an integrated solution to handle unique investment vehicles, risk management and collateral management, according to a report from Aite Group of Boston,...

SEC Investigates Callan.
September 24, 2007... The Securities and Exchange Commission has sent Callan Associates a cease and desist order alleging that the firm failed to disclose the nature of one of its business relationships to clients. The charge comes as a result of Callan's...

Texas School Fund Looks At Real Return.
September 24, 2007... On the table at the Texas Permanent School Fund's Sept. 20 board meeting was the issuance of an RFP for real return investments. In July 2006, the $26 billion plan carved out new asset targets, which allow for 6% of its total assets-or...

Oklahoma Cops Considers BondSearch.
September 24, 2007... The roughly $1.8 billion Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System (OPPRS) could be looking for a new global fixed-income manager, as the board considered launching a search at a Sept. 19 meeting. According to the meeting's agenda, the...

KBW Moves into a New Neighborhood.
September 24, 2007... Six months ago, one of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods's (KBW) managing directors, John Dalena, gave up his other responsibilities to head the bank's new REIT investment banking unit. Around the same time, KBW started hiring research analysts to...

Delaware Launches $1.5B in Searches.
September 24, 2007... Delaware State Treasurer Jack Markell has issued an RFP on behalf of the Cash Management Policy Board (CMPB) for investment managers to potentially be added to the state's roster. According to the RFP, the state currently has roughly $1.5...

CalSTRS Makes PE, RE Changes.
September 24, 2007... The California State Teachers' Retirement System's (CalSTRS) asset allocation for the 2007-2008 fiscal year calls for a boost in private equity and real estate investments, and a reduction in the portfolio's fixed-income investments, confirmed...

San Diego Looks at Real Estate Changes.
September 24, 2007... The San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS) could be in the market for additional real estate investments, if a proposed plan to increase its allocation to non-U.S. mandates received the green light at a Sept. 20 meeting. ...

Holyoke R.S. Goes International.
September 24, 2007... The $182 million Holyoke Retirement System has begun a search for an international equity manager to oversee an approximately $15 million account. Further details regarding the search could not be ascertained, as calls to Daniel Owens, the...

The Boston Co. Loses Another Client.
September 24, 2007... The Boston Company Asset Management has lost another client, as the $142.2 million Town of Arlington Contributory Retirement System recently issued an RFP for an international equity EAFE manager to replace the firm, as first reported on...

Cambridge Hunts for Long/Short Equity.
September 24, 2007... The Cambridge Retirement System has issued an RFP for a manager to oversee an approximately $20 million 130/30 strategy portfolio. Further details regarding the search were unclear, as calls to Ellen Philbin, administrator of the $702.1...

Cincinnati Hires For International Equity.
September 24, 2007... The $2.72 billion City of Cincinnati Employee Retirement System (CRS) selected two new managers to oversee international equity accounts for the plan, according to its Web site. At a board meeting last month, the plan interviewed...

L.A. Water and Power Looks at Real Estate.
September 24, 2007... The Los Angeles Water and Power Retirement Plan considered a $20 million real estate investment at its meeting last week. According to its Web site, the $6.5 billion plan was expected to discuss a recommendation by Pension Consulting...

Arkansas Teachers Make Hires.
September 24, 2007... The $11.4 billion Arkansas Teacher Retirement System (ATRS) has added a real estate firm to its stable of managers. According to published reports, the plan is placing $55 million in ING Clarion Capital's Debt Opportunity Fund. The fund...

Odds & Ends.
September 24, 2007... *Pioneer Investments has added two senior members to its U.S. institutional team. Ray Dutcher has joined as director of U.S. institutional client service. He was most recently the senior VP of client service at MFS Institutional...

Lord Abbett Does Executive Shuffle.
September 24, 2007... Lord Abbett & Co. has made changes to its executive management structure, effective Oct. 1, to keep up with growth in the firm's size and assets under management, said Kimberly Williams Weinrick, spokeswoman for the Jersey City, N.J.-based...