3% - Money Management Intelligence
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3% - Money Management Intelligence
MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 1 Board Gets Busy OCTOBER 4, 2010 VOL. XXXV, NO. 20 FLORIDA SBA ADVANCES ALTS INVESTMENTS, REVAMPS FI MANAGEMENT San Diego Mulls Makeover The San Diego City Employees Retirement System was slated to vote on new strategic allocation targets as MML went to press. See story, page 2 Plans Sponsor News Pittsburgh Hopes For City Funding 3 The $133 billion Florida State Board of Administration is adding to its hedge fund lineup, investing in timber and exploring infrastructure as it moves to fill out a 6% strategic investment allocation it formulated in June. The fund is currently looking for global real estate investment trust managers and is shaking up its fixed-income management as well; it will wind down its high-yield portfolio and focus on core fixed income, potentially bringing approximately half of its asset management in-house. The board has also narrowed the list of candidates to replace its chief operating officer and chief financial officer. The SBA plans to add as much as $2.5 billion of investments to its alternatives portfolio by (continued on page 19) Searches CalSTRS Reins In Commodities Mandate Ohio BWC Eyes Women, Minority Managers 5 NMPERA Preps Int’l Manager Search Sonoma Seeks Equity, Bond Managers 4 5 8 Small Plan Focus Columbia Police, Fire Eyes Consultant Alaska Railroad May Ride With Real Estate 9 10 Marketing Strategies Citi Builds Canadian Admin Biz 11 Treesdale Targets Student Housing 13 People Arlington County CIO Resigns 13 Departments Plan Sponsor Profile Search & Hire Directory 14 15-18 COPYRIGHT NOTICE: No part of this publication may be copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form or by any means without Institutional Investor’s prior written consent. Copying of this publication is in violation of the Federal Copyright Law (17 USC 101 et seq.). V iolators may be subject to criminal penalties as well as liability for substantial monetary damages, including statutory damages up to $100,000 per infringement, costs and attorney’s fees. Copyright 2010 Institutional Investor, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN# 720-90190 Risk Consultant Needed IPERS PREPS BIG REAL ASSETS MOVE The $20.6 billion Iowa Public Employees Retirement System is moving to shave its U.S. equities and fixed-income portfolios to fund a roughly $824 million allocation to real assets. New investments include Treasury inflation-protected securities and, potentially, timber, farmland, master limited partnerships, private energy partnerships, infrastructure or commodities. The fund has also slated searches for both a real estate investment trust manager and a risk management consultant in the coming months. Chief Investment Officer Karl Koch said the increased real asset allocation (to 15% from 11%) will diversify the fund’s real assets beyond real estate. He noted TIPS were included among real assets because it is also a hedge against inflation. The fund will meet on Dec. 2 to discuss how and when to implement the move. No manager terminations are expected. (continued on page 20) OKLAHOMA TEACHERS TARGETS MLPS The $8.6 billion Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System is looking for managers to run a $430 million master limited partnerships mandate. Based on its annual asset allocation review, the fund has cut 5% from its large-cap/all-cap equities core and high-yield bond portfolios to fund allocations to master limited partnerships as well as real estate and private equity. No manager terminations are expected. Executive Secretary James Wilbanks said master limited partnerships are James Wilbanks attractive to the board because they will provide steady income for the fund. Wilbanks declined to comment further, but Neil Rue, a managing director at Pension Consulting Alliance, said master limited partnerships can give funds exposure to sectors such as energy and commodities and generate income in the 5-10% range through dividend (continued on page 20) Remember to check www.moneymanagementletter.com during the week for breaking news and updates. MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Money Management Letter Page 2 www.moneymanagementletter.com October 4, 2010 Plan Sponsor News San Diego Eyes Portfolio Makeover The San Diego City Employees Retirement System was slated to vote on one of four strategic asset allocation targets as MML went to press. The board will look at cutting domestic equity to 26.5% from 36% and increase non-U.S. equity to 26.5% from 17%; increase private equity to 8% from 5% and introduce a 3% allocation to infrastructure; include a 3% allocation to emerging market debt; or cut its 5% hedge fund allocation to partially finance a 6.2% allocation to an opportunity fund designed to take advantage of dislocations in the market as the Public-Private Investment Program and the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, according to fund documents. The fund’s current target allocation is U.S. equity at 36%, non-U.S. equity at 17%, real estate at 11%, private equity at 5%, market-neutral hedge funds at 5%, U.S. fixed income at 22% and non-U.S. fixed income at 4%. A spokeswoman for the system did not immediately return calls regarding options of funding the private equity or infrastructure increases or whether manager searches or terminations would follow. The fund wants to generate favorable long-term returns and provide some downside protection for its $4.4 billion portfolio, according to fund documents. It has allocated 78% of its portfolio to return-seeking assets such as global equities, real estate and hedge fund strategies. The remaining 22% is geared toward risk reducing assets such as investment-grade U.S. bonds, Treasury inflation-protected securities and hedged non-U.S. sovereign debt, according to fund documents. Columbia Assembles Pension Task Force The city of Columbia, Mo., is putting together a task force to review underfunding at the city’s three pension plans at the request of Bob McDavid, the mayor. The nine-member committee will include six citizens with backgrounds in finance and one participant of each plan—the police, firefighters and city employees retirement systems. All of the members have been selected except for the one from city employees. Steve Yoakum, executive director of The Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri and chairman of the task force, said that he hopes the first meeting will run in early October. The market downturn of 2008 has hurt the Columbia Police and Firefighters’ Retirement Plan, which has separate police and fire boards but one investment portfolio between them. The police plan is 62.61% funded and the firefighters’ plan is 61.07% funded as of Sep. 30, 2009, according to Lori Fleming, finance director with the fund. The Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System handles the Columbia city employees retirement plan, which is about 7074% funded as of Feb. 28, 2009, according to Yoakum. Until now, the city has made its required contributions to the plans. But the decline in funding status will force the contributions to rise and divert scarce funds away from other city programs. “We see the writing on the wall,” said Fleming. “The mayor wants to see if there’s something we can do to address this.” Yoakum said that the task force will first define the problem in terms of costs to the pension plans and then come up with options on how to deal with it over the next few months. The task force will then present its findings to the city council and to the plans. 2 EDITORIAL STEVE MURRAY Editor TOM LAMONT General Editor VERONICA BELITSKI Executive Editor (212) 224-3297 MARK FORTUNE Managing Editor (212) 224-3129 CARL WINFIELD Reporter (212) 224-3287 KEVIN DUGAN Reporter (212) 224-3279 LOUIS POPE Data Editor IISearches (212) 224-3211 JABEZ GRANT Deputy Editor IISearches (212) 224-3936 IGOR KOSSOV Associate Reporter (212) 224-3592 ALEXANDRA SCAGGS Associate Reporter (212) 224-3610 STANLEY WILSON Washington Bureau Chief (202) 393-0728 KIERON BLACK Sketch Artist PRODUCTION DANY PEÑA Director DEBORAH ZAKEN Manager MELISSA ENSMINGER, JAMES BAMBARA, DOUGLAS LEE Associates JENNY LO Web Production & Design Director ADVERTISING PAT BERTUCCI Associate Publisher (212) 224-3890 ADRIENNE BILLS Associate Publisher (212) 224-3214 ©Institutional Investor News 2010. Reproduction requires publisher’s prior permission. PUBLISHING GRAHAM CHITTY Publisher (44) 207 779 8798 RONDA DIMASI Senior Marketing Manager (212) 224-3569 LAURA PAGLIARO Marketing Manager (212) 224-3896 VINCENT YESENOSKY Head of US Fulfillment (212) 224-3057 DAVID SILVA Senior Fulfillment Manager (212) 224-3573 SUBSCRIPTIONS/ ELECTRONIC LICENSES One year $2,695 (in Canada add $30 postage, others outside US add $75) STEVE MCDERMOTT Account Executive (212) 224-3486 GEORGE WITTMAN Client Development Manager (212) 224-3019 REPRINTS DEWEY PALMIERI Reprint & Permission Manager (212) 224-3675 [email protected] CORPORATE GARY MUELLER Chairman & CEO ALLISON ADAMS Group Publisher STEVE KURTZ Chief Operating Officer Customer Service: PO Box 5016, Brentwood, TN 37024-5016. Tel: 1-800-715-9195. Fax: 1-615-377-0525 UK: 44 20 7779 8704 Hong Kong: 852 2842 6910 E-mail: [email protected] Editorial Offices: 225 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003. Tel: (212) 224-3129 Email: [email protected] Institutional Investor Hotline: (212) 224-3570 and (1-800) 437-9997 or [email protected] Money Management Letter is a general circulation biweekly. No statement in this issue is to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell securities or to provide investment advice. Money Management Letter ©2010 Institutional Investor, Inc. ISSN# 720-90190 Copying prohibited without the permission of the Publisher. MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 3 October 4, 2010 www.moneymanagementletter.com Plan Sponsor News Pittsburgh Awaits Cash Infusion The $309 million Pittsburgh Municipal Pension Trust is awaiting approval from the city council on a deal that could provide the fund with a much-needed infusion of capital. The board hopes to gain approval by the end of October to accept a $452 million bid from a partnership composed of LAZ Parking and JPMorgans to privatize parking garages. Cash from the sale could save the pension plan from being absorbed by the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System, which will happen if the plan doesn’t achieve a funded ratio in excess of 50% by Jan. 1, 2011. The plan needs at least $210 million to fill the funding gap, said Tony Pokora, assistant director of finance. Some of the proceeds of the sale would be used to retire bonds issued on the property, but the city would be left with around $330 million to potentially contribute to the plan. The money would be invested according to the system’s existing asset allocation, said Pokora; Mayor Luke Ravenstahl will decide how much above the needed $210 million will go to the pension plan. There are no allocation changes or studies planned as a result of the potential contribution. The partnership of LAZ Parking and JPMorgan, which will operate the parking garages as Pittsburgh Parking Partners, Searches Orlando Targets New Assets In Revamp The City of Orlando Pension Advisory Committee, which helps manage the city’s $727 million in pension plans, is eyeing global assets, funds of hedge funds, real estate and ‘smid’-cap equities as it continues with an asset allocation revamp. According to fund documents, the boards for the city’s General Employees’ Pension Fund, Police Pension Fund, and Firefighters’ Pension Fund were slated to interview Crestline Partners, Entrust Capital, GAM USA, and Grosvenor Capital Management for a 5% fund-of- hedge-funds mandate at the end of August. The boards are also set to get information at the end of September regarding a search for global assets managers. At an earlier meeting in July, FLAG Real Estate Partners and Metropolitan Real Estate Partners were being considered for a value-added non-core real estate brief. NEPC Consultant Kevin Leonard, based in Cambridge, Mass., is assisting with the searches. Leonard didn’t return calls seeking comment. After the global asset search is completed, the boards will look for a ‘smid’-cap manager; the size of that mandate Money Management Letter entered an initial bid of $413 million September 13. Other bidders were EQT Partners Inc, which bid $423 million, and Carlyle Infrastructure Partners, which bid $311 million. Nebraska Refines World Index Focus The $14 billion Nebraska Investment Council will switch from the broad ACWI to a narrower Investable Market Index for its $300 million all-world allocation. Jeff States, investment manager with the council, said that the IMI has a better exposure to small- and mid-cap equities and provides better riskreturn characteristics. NIC will switch from BlackRock to State Street Global Advisors to run this index. States added that SSgA had a more competitive fee, which he declined to quantify. A representative from BlackRock declined to comment. Separately, the council made a $15 million private equity commitment to the Aries Capital mezzanine fund as part of the ongoing process to diversify the portfolio’s private equity exposure. The funding will come from the council’s domestic Russell 1000 index allocation. The council targets an allocation of 30% of its defined benefit assets in fixed income, 31.5% in domestic equity, 15% in global equity, 13.5% in non-U.S. equity, 5% in real estate and 5% in private equity. couldn’t be gleaned. The asset revamp is a result of a study completed last year by NEPC. The funds have since invested in the JPMorgan Strategic Property Fund (MML Daily, 4/27) and selected Thornburg Investment Management for an international equity brief last December. The committee recently hired GTS Advisors to provide transition management services and analysis of its portfolio trading costs. Colchester Nabs Big Real Return Mandate The $17 billion Texas Municipal Retirement System board has charged Colchester Global Investors with managing an $850 million global inflation-linked bond mandate within the real return component of the fund’s portfolio. The mandate will be invested over the next year. The real return allocation represents 5% of the fund’s portfolio. Funds for the real return investment will be taken from the current fixed income allocation, which is at 35%, or some $6 billion. R.V. Kuhns and Associates consulted on the management selection. To receive email alerts or online access, call 800-715-9195. 3 MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 4 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com Austin City Retains Auditor The $1.5 billion City of Austin Employee Retirement System (COAERS) has decided to retain Padgett, Stratemann and Co. as internal auditors through 2015. The firm has handled internal auditing for the system since 2008, while KPMG handles the financial audits. Donna Boykin, cfo for the fund, declined to comment on the fee arrangement with Padget, Stratemann. CalSTRS Limits Commodities Investment to $250M The board of the $134 billion California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) has reduced greatly the scope of its proposed commodities investment—from a reported $2.5 billion to $250 million or less. Ricardo Duran, media relations representative, said the $250 million figure came from discussions at a September 2 meeting of the fund’s investment committee and CalSTRS staff. The staff had proposed the larger figure during the summer. The fund’s Innovation and Risk Unit decided to lower the amount and allocate it over a three-year incubation period to see how the investments perform, according to Duran. If they perform well, and given a favorable market outlook, the board might then consider three options: injecting more into commodities, creating a separate allocation bucket, or rolling the investments into an existing asset class. Duran said other investors may feel commodities are “hot and get in before the market gets saturated, but we’re a long-term investor and perform over many, many years, decades, even.” Penn. SERS Invests in Asian PE The $23.7 billion Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System has invested in a South Korean private equity firm in order to further diversify globally, said plan representative Bob Gentzel. The plan has committed $7 million to Asia Alternatives Capital Partners Korea Buyout Investors as a co-investment in Hahn & Company Korea, which will be funded from cash. The plan also made follow-on commitments of $12.5 million each to the OCM Opportunities funds VIII and VIIIb, $20 million to Avenue Capital’s Special Situations VI fund, and $10 million to JMI’s Equity VII fund. Penn. SERS often makes follow-on commitments of $10 million to $50 million to managers in alternatives, despite over allocation to private equity and venture capital. As of December 2009, the plan had an 18.3% actual allocation against an 18% target, and the actual allocation has since grown. For example, it funded an additional $20 million and $25 million to Francisco 4 October 4, 2010 Partners III LP and Weathergate Venture Capital II, respectively in May (MML Daily, 5/3). Virginia County Interviews PE Firms The $1.63 billion Fairfax County (Va.) Educational Supplemental Employees Retirement System has interviewed two private equity managers for an investment in the secondary market and plans to make a decision in November. Plan representative Janet Kohler Dueweke said that the board hasn’t decided on the size of the investment, but board members plan to make due diligence visits to Permal Capital Management and Lexington Partners in October. ERFC is looking to invest in private equity for diversification purposes. Its target allocation to the area is 5%, and the system has so far set aside around 1% of its funds for the space since the allocation was adopted in 2009. The interviews follow a recommendation from consultant Doug Moseley of NEPC to invest $15 million each in the mezzanine lending and secondary market private equity areas. ERFC most recently invested $7.5 million each with Audax Management Company and Newstone Capital Partners (iisearches, 7/16). New Mexico SIC Unloads Equities, Hedge Funds The $13.5 billion New Mexico State Investment Council (NMSIC) is looking to reallocate funds from domestic equities and hedge funds. As of June 30, the fund had approximately $5.5 billion in domestic equities, $1.5 billion in international equities and approximately $1.1 billion in hedge funds. It plans to increase investments long term in fixed income to 20% from 15% and international equities to 15% from 9%. The draw down in hedge fund investments is largely because of poor performance—a drop of 0.2% for the quarter and 6.7% over three years. NMSIC is looking to reduce its allocation to hedge funds to 5% from 15%. Charles Wollman, Public Information Officer for NMSIC, said the fund will soon complete a search for a hedge fund manager for a completion fund, to “fill in strategic holes” and make up for losses. Wollman said the move away from hedge funds and equities was not a result of the bad quarter, but part of a long-term strategy. “We’re assessing if we’ve done enough to take volatility out of the portfolio,” he said. “The old investment officer really liked his equities,” said Charles Wollman, Public Information Officer for the fund, referring to Gary Bland. (Bland resigned last year after the former state investment advisor, Saul Meyer, pled guilty to securities fraud.) He added that Bland’s “old strategies to ©Institutional Investor News 2010. Reproduction requires publisher’s prior permission. MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 5 October 4, 2010 www.moneymanagementletter.com minimize volatility were no longer viable.” Steven K. Moise, former Senior Vice President of Development for the University of Colorado Foundation, replaced Bland in April. Robert “Vince” Smith, who just left his job as CIO for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS), will replace Adam Levine as deputy SIO on Sept. 27. For the quarter, U.S. equities returned -11.9%, underperforming against the Russell 3000 Index benchmark by 0.6%, and the large-cap active equities pool returned -13.3% against the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index benchmark of -11.4%. Non-U.S. equities in developed markets outperformed the MSCI EAFE benchmark by 0.4%, but still returned -13.6%. Emerging markets equities returned -12.9%, lagging behind the MSCI Emerging Markets bench by 4.6%. The fund had $546 million in non-U.S. developed equities and $982 million in emerging markets. Ohio BWC Carves Slice for Minority, Women Managers The board of the $20 billion Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation fund will set aside 1% of the Bureau’s portfolio, or $200 million, for investment via woman- and minority-owned money management firms. At the suggestion of its consultant, Mercer, the Bureau will search for a manager of managers, which will coordinate the hires. Melissa Vince, spokeswoman with the fund, said that the board has not yet discussed the timeframe for the search nor the asset classes it will look for. She said that these decisions will most likely be discussed at future board meetings. PMRS Cuts Century, Sticks With DePrince M&I Investment Management Corp. has won a $33 million small-cap equity mandate that was previously handled by Century Capital after the $1.4 billion Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System put the contract out for bid as required by state law. The law, enacted in December 2009, requires all Pennsylvania contract renewals to be subject to a public bid process every five years. Century’s five-year contract was slated to expire this fall, and the firm was invited to re-bid. PMRS didn’t have a problem with Century’s service, said plan representative Jim Allen, but the manager didn’t end up as one of the top three managers considered. The pension used factors such as performance, the number of stocks in the portfolio, volatility of returns and value added in their evaluation. Century Capital didn’t return calls for comment. Competing with M&I as finalists were Pier Capital and Riverbridge Partners. Riverbridge declined to comment, and Money Management Letter Pier didn’t return calls by press time. The plan also renewed a five-year contract of DePrince, Race & Zollo for a roughly $60 million large-cap value mandate. Jacksonville Police & Fire Issues U.S. Equity RFP The $982 million City of Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension has issued a request for proposals for a large-cap value equity manager for a mandate worth $50 million as part of a larger portfolio restructuring. The current managers for the mandate, AllianceBernstein and Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley, are invited to re-bid, said John Keane, administrator. The fund is looking for one or two managers to manage the mandate. Plan consultant Dan Holmes of Summit Strategies will assist. Proposals are John Keane due Oct. 20. Keane added that the restructuring has started because the pension fund won a lawsuit against the State of Florida Division of Retirement and can now invest in alternatives. The plan is interested in areas such as infrastructure and hedge funds, he said. NMPERA Readies Vote On Int’l Manager Search The $10.6 billion New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association’s investment committee has recommended launching a new search for active small-cap international money managers. The mandate size has not yet been determined, but cio Joelle Mevi said that it may be between $100 million and $150 million. The board was expected to vote vote on the prospective allocation at its Sept. 30 meeting, after MML went to press. If approved, NMPERA will likely Joelle Mevi draw funding from passive mandates. The committee also recommended a search for an international large-cap growth manager, but that search is further in the future and the fund has not yet determined mandate size or timeframe. The committee also recommended that the fund consolidate its passive international and emerging markets mandates to track the MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. index. The fund currently has half of its international equities under active management. Mevi said that the fund hopes to increase the actively managed portion to generate excess returns. Marcia Beard with R.V. Kuhns & Associates’ Portland office—the To receive email alerts or online access, call 800-715-9195. 5 MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 6 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com fund’s consultant—suggested merging the passive mandates to bring them in line with a composite benchmark. The fund invests 45% of its assets in equity, 20% in fixed income, 10% in private equity, 10% in absolute return, 5% in GTAA, 5% in real estate and 5% in real assets. Sacramento Cuts ECM The $5.1 billion Sacramento County (Calif.) Employees Retirement System dismissed London-based European Credit Management due to organizational changes at the firm. The firm managed roughly $49.6 million in European debt instruments for the fund. Executive Director Richard Stensrud noted that the departures of six members of ECM’s investment team caused concern about the firm’s stability. The names of the employees who left could not be determined; a spokesman for ECM did not immediately return calls. ECM is slated to redeem Sacramento’s investment in two installments. Stensrud did not immediately respond to questions regarding ECM’s termination or how the money would be reallocated. Chicago Board Of Ed Seeks Auditor The Chicago Board of Education is looking for an independent auditor to express an opinion on its annual financial audits, review its internal controls and certify that a joint annual financial report with the Illinois School District meets state standards. Contract Administrator Martha Escareno said the board is seeking auditors because the incumbent’s contract ends in February. The firm will be invited to rebid. Respondents will be evaluated, in part, on experience with similar contracts and qualifications of assigned personnel and the quality of the implementation plan. Fee proposals from prospective firms will also factor into the board’s decision. Responses to the RFP are due Oct. 5. JPMorgan, Brookfield Nab San Diego Real Estate Mandates The $7.4 billion San Diego County Employees Retirement Association (SDCERA) has allocated $200 million to JPMorgan Asset Management and $75 million to Brookfields Asset Management. Johanna Shick, spokesperson for the fund, said the money for the investments came from cash. The $200 million, which represents 2.8% of the total SDCERA portfolio, will go into JPMorgan’s Strategic Property Fund for core real estate investment, which allows for greater liquidity and control through monthly deposits and quarterly 6 October 4, 2010 redemptions. The management fee is approximately 89 basis points, with 15 basis points for cash equivalents in excess of 7.5%. The $75 million in Brookfield will go into its Americas Infrastructure Fund, which focuses on utility, energy, renewable power and transportation sector assets in North America— Canada and the U.S.—and South America—primarily in Brazil and Chile, but also Columbia and Peru on an opportunistic basis. Management fees are 100 basis points on committed capital and 150 on invested. The Townsend Group was the consultant on these decisions. MLGW Gets Back To Private Equity The $1 billion Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division Pension System awarded a $15 million private equity mandate to SSM Partners, based in Memphis. John McCullough, v.p. of finance, said that MLGW didn’t have a private equity allocation in the past few years and took this step to diversify the portfolio. He added that SSM has a risk level that MLGW likes because the manager focuses on midlife expansion of mid-sized companies. McCullough declined to talk about other candidates that bid in the process. The funding will come from fixed income, and some managers will see their mandates reduced, he said, declining to specify. The system invests 40% of its assets in equities, 38% in fixed income, 20.5% in real estate and 1.5% in private equity. OPERS Expands Ohio Midwest Fund The $68 billion Ohio Public Employees Retirement System has tapped Permal Capital Management of Boston to manage $100 million in private equity. The mandate will be the system’s third commitment to the Ohio Midwest Fund, a private equity portfolio that can be invested only in Rich Nuzum companies based in the Midwest. OPERS plans to fund the mandate from its other private equity commitments over the course of three years, said Julie GrahamPrice, the fund spokesperson. Some managers will see their mandates reduced. Rich Nuzum with Mercer advises the fund. Ohio already has two $50 million mandates in the Ohio Midwest Fund, both of which are handled by Credit Suisse— one was launched in 2005, the other, in 2007. Together, they have investments in 139 companies, 42 of which are based in Ohio. The 2005 fund had a net return of -7% and the 2007 fund returned -17% as of March 31. OPERS will liquidate these two funds over the next few years. Price said that the system is looking to increase its ©Institutional Investor News 2010. Reproduction requires publisher’s prior permission. MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 7 October 4, 2010 www.moneymanagementletter.com commitment to the sector and hopes to achieve better returns for the Ohio Midwest Fund with the new $100 million commitment. The fund chose Permal because of the company’s better expertise and fee structure with this kind of investment, as well as the hope that it will perform better than Credit Suisse. OPERS invests 25% of its assets in U.S. equities, 19% in nonU.S. equities and 6% in emerging markets. It allocates 9% to core bonds, 9% to long-duration bonds and 5% in high-yield bonds. In the alternative space, 10% goes to real estate, 10% to private equity, 3% to hedge funds and 2% to infrastructure. The remaining 2% is in cash and other liquid assets. REITS Increased Stanislaus Moves On Mezz Debt, Infrastructure The $1.2 billion Stanislaus County (Calif.) Employees Retirement Association has agreed to commit $30 million to Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts Asset Management’s KKR Global Infrastructure Investors fund. Retirement Administrator Tom Watson said the fund also allocated $30 million to the KKR Mezzanine Partners I fund and bumped its allocation to Atlantabased Invesco’s global real estate investment trust mandate to roughly $30 million from approximately $18 million in August. Stanislaus’ board had been considering the moves in order to decrease its equity risk (MML Daily, 8/10). The investments will be funded through reductions in its equity portfolio. Western, TCW Axed Colorado Fire Shuffles Fixed-Income Managers Money Management Letter fund passed on State Street because it was looking for firm diversification. “With State Street, we just have a huge exposure to passive equity,” he said. BlackRock also had “a bit more capabilities outside fixed income in the alternative space” than BNY Mellon, Simon said, hinting that he foresees a strategic relationship with BlackRock. He noted that the fixed-income capabilities of both BlackRock and BNY Mellon are very similar. BNY Mellon and State Street both declined to comment. Once WAMCO and TCW’s mandates are terminated, funds are to be moved over to passive aggregate bond exposure in order to fund the new mandates in fixed income. Simon said the two firms were let go to “de-risk the credit exposure” of the fund. TCW and WAMCO declined to comment. Ohio Schools Hires For EM Mandates The $9.2 billion School Employees Retirement System of Ohio authorized the hire of Genesis Investment Management and Hexam Capital Partners for emerging markets equities mandates. Assignment sizes are still in negotiation but will not exceed $100 million, according to Tim Barbour, fund spokesman, and will be funded from the system’s cash reserves. The search was part of an effort to boost exposure in global equities (MML Daily, 8/2.) The fund invests 27.5% of its assets in international equity, 27.5% in domestic equity, 24% in fixed income, 10% in real estate, 10% in private equity and 1% in cash. Ventura Mulls Passive Management The $2.8 billion Colorado Fire & Police Pension Association (CFPPA) is set to terminate Western Asset Management Company (WAMCO) and TCW from core plus and high-yield mandates, respectively, in order to fund a $150 million passive fixed income mandate recently won by BlackRock. The remaining $200 million will fund an active fixed-income mandate on which the board plans to decide within the next two months. Regarding the open search, CFPPA CIO Scott Simon said that the fund will “still take information, but we’ll be doing onsite due diligence over the next month.” He declined to name the managers already in the running. CFPPA has approximately $600 million in fixed income, and BlackRock will be the fourth manager overseeing the portfolio alongside Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), WAMCO and TCW, the latter two retaining separate mandates from those just axed. BlackRock beat out two other managers in an internally run search—BNY Mellon and State Street. Simon said the The $2.75 billion Ventura County (Calif.) Employees Retirement System compared active managers Acadian Asset Management in Boston and New York’s Artio Global Investors’ against passively managed alternatives at its Sept. 20 meeting. Retirement Administrator Tim Thonis said the move represented a continuing discussion of the benefits of active and passive management. “As markets become more efficient and information improves, there’s only so much an active manager can do to take advantage of inefficiencies,” he said. Thonis noted the $100 million global equity mandate run by Acadian returned 7.3% for the year ending June 30. The MSCI ACWI index, its benchmark, returned 10.3% for the same period. Likewise, the $60 million international equity mandate overseen by Artio returned 9.4% for the year ending June 30, while its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex U.S. index returned 11.8% for the same period. Acadian has been on watch for performance since February (MML Daily, 2/2). To receive email alerts or online access, call 800-715-9195. 7 MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 8 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com Tennessee Consolidated Hires Energy Fund The $29.8 billion Tennessee Consolidated Retirement Fund hired EnCap Investments for a $30 million energy limited partnership. This will be TCRF’s first sector-targeted investment. Michael Brakebill, cio with the fund, sees an opportunity for great returns and portfolio diversification within this space. Michael Brakebill The funding will come from the overall portfolio and some managers may see their mandates reduced slightly; Brakebill did not specify who will see cuts. The fund invests 33.6% of its assets in domestic equity, 14.4% in international equity, 33.2% in domestic bonds, 3.7% in international bonds, 7.6% in hedge funds, 4% in real estate and 3.5% in cash. Missouri City Seeks Auditors The City of Nevada, Miss., is looking for certified public accounting firms to audit financial statements. The work will involve statements for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, but the city is also open to negotiating a five-year contract with the winner. Interested firms should send four proposal copies to Kristie Modlin, finance manager, by Oct. 8. The city hopes to make its selection by Oct. 20. Modlin could not be reached by press time on the reason why Nevada is doing this search at this time. Nevada’s annual payroll for all its employees totals $4.9 million. LASERS Commits to New PE The $8 billion Louisiana State Employees Retirement System has made $40 million private equity commitments to Siguler Guff & Company and Energy Spectrum Capital, respectively. Bobby Beale, LASERS cio, said the system invested in the two managers’ previous funds and remains very satisfied, adding that the new mandates were part of the “normal course of business.” The mandates will be funded from draw downs for the previous funds. The fund’s consultant, Rhett Humphreys with Cambridge-based NEPC, assisted with the allocation. The board also approved investing in the new Bridgewater Associates Pure Alpha Major Markets Fund. Any distributions from LASERS’ existing investments in the Bridgewater Pure Alpha fund will be reinvested into the new product. LASERS invests 50% of its assets in equities, 20% in fixed income, 25% in alternatives and 5% global asset allocation. 8 October 4, 2010 LACERS Approves Aon Contract The Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System, which has $9.9 billion under management, approved a contract with Aon Corporation that simplifies contractual language after the consulting firm Hewitt Associates, which bought Ennis Knupp & Associates in August, was in turn acquired by Aon in August. “This acquisition will constitute a change in control of Ennis Knupp’s contract with LACERS,” said Linda Aparicio, spokesperson for the fund. Although a change of control will take place, the name Ennis, Knupp & Associates will remain as the contractor of record for the fund. Sonoma County Seeks Fixed-Income, Equities Managers The $1.3 billion Sonoma County Employees Retirement Association (SCERA) will hire managers for U.S. fixedincome active core-plus and active international equities. The mandates will be approximately $120 million in aggregate. Funding will come from two mandates that were held by Capital Guardian in non-US equity and global equity. Capital Guardian, which was terminated in July, had been on SCERA’s watch list since November 2009 after the board’s confidence was shaken by an organizational shift, changes in the portfolio management team, losses in institutional assets and a lack of clarity about future leadership. State Street Global Advisors has been transitioning the portfolios. Each portfolio represented approximately $60 million in assets. Hewitt Ennis Knupp consulted on the assignment. Chicago Transit Eyes PE Hedge Fund Manager The Chicago Transit Authority Employees Retirement Fund is considering hedge fund managers to run a private equity mandate. A fund official noted that the CTA, which has approximately $1.6 billion in assets, is weighing the move to complement a $30 million private equity fund-of-hedge-funds mandate. The official declined to comment on when CTA would issue a request for proposals, the amount of the mandate or how it would be financed. Executive Director John Kallianis did not return calls for comment. The official added that the hedge-fund-of-funds component will serve as a core private equity investment. The direct private equity will be a “satellite” allocation through which the CTA will focus on strategies with different return aspects. Gray & Co., the fund’s consultant, will advise. The official confirmed the fund has narrowed down its choice of fund-of-funds managers, but declined to comment on the finalists. ©Institutional Investor News 2010. Reproduction requires publisher’s prior permission. MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 9 October 4, 2010 www.moneymanagementletter.com Chicago Public Schools Taps FOF Manager Money Management Letter expired. The deadline is Oct. 8, and five auditors have already applied, among them CG. The auditing committee is expected to make its decision in the third week of November. The $9.1 billion Chicago Public School Teachers Pension and Retirement Fund has selected Evanston, Ill.-based Plucios Management to oversee a $25 million fund-of-hedge-funds mandate. Executive Director Kevin Huber said the board chose Plucios because it complemented existing hedge funds run by Chicago’s Mesirow Advanced Strategies and Stamford, Conn.’s K2 Advisors. Lasair Capital and Rock Creek Group were also finalists for the mandate. Spokesmen for the firms did not return calls for comment. Iowa Removes Mellon, WAMCO From Watchlist At its Sept.16 board meeting, the $20.6 billion Iowa Public Employees Retirement System removed Mellon Capital Management and Western Asset Management from its watch list. CIO Karl Koch said the board placed Mellon on watch last year for reasons of personnel turnover in its global tactical long/short strategy. WAMCO had been placed on watch for underperformance in its core fixed-income portfolio. Koch added that no further personnel changes have occurred at Mellon and that WAMCO’s performance has improved. Fixed-income manager BlackRock and Arlington, Va.based international equity manager Emerging Markets Management remain on the fund’s watch list based on turnover and performance. Both were placed on watch last year. The values of the managers’ mandates could not be determined by press time. Small Plan Focus Aurora Shuffles Allocation, Seeks Auditor The board of the $285.4 million City of Aurora General Employee Retirement Plan (GERP) has agreed to allocate $15 million to the Molpus Woodlands Group Fund III and will increase allocation to its $42 million in international equities to 16% from 14%, or $2.1 million, after trimming U.S. equities to 28% from 30%. GERP plans to add another $2.1 million to international equities in three months. State Street and Dodge and Cox each handle half of the international equities mandate and will take over the new assignments. The fund will also issue a request for proposals for a new auditor, since the contract with Clifton Gunderson (CG) has Watertown Seeks Equity, Bond Managers The $85 million Watertown (Mass.) Contributory Retirement Board is looking for managers to oversee a $4 million mid-cap core equity mandate, a $2 million global fixed-income mandate and a high-yield fixed-income mandate valued at $2 million. Director Barbara Sheehan said the fund is searching for managers on the advice of its new consultant, Windsor, Conn.based Fiduciary Investment Advisors, which replaced New Yorkbased Segal Advisors earlier this year She added that the fund, which has roughly 50% of its assets in the Massachusetts PRIT fund, is looking to revamp its asset allocation. She did not disclose how the move would be funded. Neither FIA analyst Maura Goulart nor the spokeswoman for Segal returned calls. Firms interested in the mandates must have a minimum $500 million in assets under management, a minimum of $250 in each strategy and at least five years of performance history. The requests for proposals, which can be obtained from Goulart at [email protected], are due Nov. 5. Columbia Guns & Hoses To Seek Outside Help The $74.8 million Columbia Police & Firefighters’ Retirement System in Missouri may issue a request for proposals for an investment manager or consultant within the next two to three months. Until now, the two retirement systems, which have separate boards but share one portfolio, managed all the funds in-house without an advisor. The talks stem from concern over the status of the pension plans, which are only roughly 61% funded. Lori Fleming, finance director for the fund, said the police and firefighters’ boards will meet jointly to discuss alternative approaches, including hiring outside help. The discussion is still in the early stages and no other details have been confirmed, said Fleming. The portfolio targets a 50% allocation to equities and 50% to fixed income, allowing these targets to fluctuate by a maximum of 15%. All of the fund’s equity investments are through mutual funds. Recently, the fund’s equity investments represented 55% of the portfolio. Government bonds, corporate bonds and cash equivalents represented about 15% each. To receive email alerts or online access, call 800-715-9195. 9 MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 10 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com Delaware Fund May Flip Entire Portfolio The $20 million Sussex County (Del.) Postemployment Benefit Plan has issued request for proposals seeking fixed-income, domestic large-cap, small-cap and global equity investment management services. Responses were due September 27. The reason for both searches could not be gleaned as calls to Susan Webb, finance director, were not returned before press time. According to fund documents, the fixed-income allocation will be between 30-50% and the equity 50-70%. West Chester, Pa.-based Peirce Park Group, is assisting with the search. Ann Arbor Splits Lee Munder Mandate The $344 million City of Ann Arbor (Mich.) Retirement System has liquidated its $19 million allocation to Boston’s Lee Munder Capital Group’s Small-Cap Select Growth strategy and split the money between incumbent, Loomis, Sayles & Co. and Rhumbline Advisors’ Small-Cap Core index fund, according to fund documents. The fund currently has October 4, 2010 $41.2 million in small-cap equities. Loomis’ mandate will increase to 27.5 million from $22.2 million. Rhumbline will oversee $13.7 million The firm closed its small-cap growth strategy in August (MML Daily, 8/11). Executive Director Willie Powell did not immediately return calls to address why the funds were transferred to Loomis and Rhumbline. Spokesmen for the firms did not return calls for comment. Alaska Railroads Mulls Real Estate Searches The $60 million Alaska Railroad Corporation will consider searching for real estate managers, said Pam Barbeau, benefits manager with the defined benefit plan. She said the fund has no definite plans and might not decide until next year. The fund is analyzing its current real estate manager lineup; its real estate investments now represent 8% of the portfolio, below the 15% target. The fund will work with its adviser, Chris Tauber of Mercer. The fund targets a 17.5% investment in large-cap value, 17.5% in large-cap growth, 10% in small-caps, 15% in international equities, 25% in fixed income and 15% in real estate. “RIGHT NOW, I’M NOT SEEKING FAME, FORTUNE, OR A CORNE I’M LOOKING FOR THE OTHER HAL Created for a new generation of financial professionals, Thomson Reuters Eikon instantly access the leading source of data and commentary to gain insights into wh MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 11 October 4, 2010 www.moneymanagementletter.com Arkansas Judicial Trades Loomis For Wellington The $131 million Arkansas Judicial Retirement System has terminated Loomis Sayles’s contract to manage a 15% growth equity allocation and has hired Wellington Management as its replacement. Jay Wills, Arkansas Judicial’s staff attorney, said board members were uncomfortable with administration and personnel changes within the firm’s growth equity team, which had previously managed around $24 million for the system. He did not specify the changes to which he was referring. Westfield Slates FOF Manager Search The $120 million Westfield (Mass.) Contributory Retirement System is looking for a manager to run a $6 million private equity fund-of-hedge-funds mandate. CIO Raymond Depelteau said the board believes now is a good time to add private equity to the portfolio because the asset class has, historically, performed well coming out of recessions. The move will be funded through a reduction in Westfield’s Money Management Letter equity portfolio. The fund’s asset mix is currently equities at 70% and fixed income at 30%, Depelteau said. Responses to the request for proposals are due by Oct. 15. Visit www.moneymanagement.com or www.iisearches.com for the RFP. Marketing Strategies Citi Introduces Pension Admin Biz In Canada Citigroup Fund Services has will delve into the pension administration business in Canada, and has hired an executive from a competitor to run the business, according to Gurmeet Ahluwalia, Canada head of securities and fund services product. Ahluwalia declined to name the executive because of a non-compete agreement in the exec’s contract that runs until Oct. 8. The firm will offer global custody, performance analytics, fund valuation and benefits payment services to Canadian pensions with assets under management of $250 million or more. Citi has been in the custodial business in Canada for about 25 years, and entered the global custody business around four years ago. Pension administration is “a natural extension,” said Ahluwalia. In the F OF MY IDEA.” n is more comprehensive, more intuitive, and more collaborative than anything you’ve ever worked with. Now, hat’s moving the markets and your portfolios. See the demo at thomsonreuters.com/eikon NEW ERA. NEW TOOLS. © 2010 Thomson Reuters. Actor portrayal of fictional event. R OFFICE. GO ONLINE TODAY Money Management Letter is a powerful portfolio of leads and critical information to help investment managers grow AUM. Are you getting the most out of your subscription? Did you know, as well as the print newsletter, Money Management Letter is also available online? There are some amazing benefits in your investment in Money Management Letter in the services provided online. Stay 100% up-to-date on the move with: Breaking news alerts; Extensive online archive of articles and data - save time and money creating reports, it’s your comprehensive research tool 24/7 live news updates via the website - news is posted as it happens; Tailored RSS feeds to suit your information needs; Daily email news summaries direct to your PC or mobile device; Login now*: to make the most of your Money Management Letter subscription today! www.moneymanagementletter.com * To login you will require your username and password. If you have forgotten your username and password, simply call 1-800-715-9195. MML100410 9/30/10 October 4, 2010 5:03 PM Page 13 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com Canadian market, the firm has seen an increase in retirees mirroring U.S. demographic shifts, and an increase in multiemployer pension plans, or MEPPS. And as employers try to take advantage of the economies of scale that come with combining pension plans, he said, he thinks Citi can offer more streamlining on the administrative side. Treesdale Forms Real Estate Arm Treesdale Partners, a New York-based hedge fund with approximately $1 billion in investments, has started Treesdale Real Estate Partners, a joint-venture firm that will focus on distressed student housing nationwide. The firm will target multi-unit housing and apartment complexes near college campuses that have high capacity but can no longer make People Arlington County Retirement CIO Steps Down The $1.3 billion Arlington County Employees’ Retirement System is looking for a new cio after Greg Samay resigned last month. Samay said that he left for personal reasons and declined to elaborate. He’s looking into other job opportunities at the moment, but doesn’t have a specific idea of what he plans to do next, he added. In the interim, he said, Daniel Zito will be acting as plan director. Plan representatives did not return calls for comment by press time. Pyramis Vet Shifts To Consulting Patrick McNelis, former head of global distribution and client service for Smithfield, R.I.’s Pyramis Global Advisors, has joined Stamford, Conn.-based Greenwich Associates as a managing director in its strategic consulting and investment management groups. A Greenwich spokeswoman, referring to a statement from Greenwich’s Managing Director Steve Busby, noted McNelis was hired for his extensive operational experience, which will strengthen the firm’s consulting practice going forward. McNelis had been with Pyramis since 2008, when he was hired as a executive v.p. in global sales and distribution (MML Daily, 3/28/08). A spokesman for Fidelity Investments, Pyramis’ parent company, said the firm’s sales, relationship management and consulting relations practices were reorganized earlier this year and that McNelis will not be replaced. Michael Barnett, an executive v.p. at Pyramis, currently oversees sales in the U.S. and Canada. Senior V.P. Jim Carroll payments on the investment. The firm was started by Oliver Swan, former CIO of Campus Habitat, and Richard Steinbeg, former president of Commercial Capital Holdings. Residential apartment buildings outside college campuses have an average occupancy rate of approximately 94%, but buyers who bought at or near the height of the market are struggling to make a profit. “We feel that real estate is a good play because these historical prices are not going to last forever,” Swan said. He added that this segment of the market is highly fragmented because there are so many universities, and that the top five firms in this area own only approximately 10% of the market. Rather than focus on large markets, Treesdale RE will target more concentrated but obscure locations. “Tishman Speyer is not going to go to Champaign-Urbana and invest $100,000 in real estate,” he said. handles relationship management and consultant relations for the firm. Ex-Houston Muni Director Elected To Board David Long, former executive director of the $1.9 billion Houston Municipal Employees Pension System, has been elected to its board of directors, according to fund documents. Long captured 759 of 1,470 votes in a runoff election. Incumbent Lee Pipes received 711 votes. Pipes had been a trustee “by David Long designation” when he served as executive director. Roy Sanchez, treasurer for the Houston Organization of Public Employees, was also elected. Houston Muni’s Board Chairman, Sherry Mose, ran unopposed. Long retired from Houston Muni in February. Rhonda Smith has succeeded him as executive director. A spokesman for Houston Muni did not immediately return calls for comment. GET IT FRIDAY! Paid subscribers now have access to a PDF of the upcoming Monday’s newsletter on MML’s Web site Friday afternoon before 5 p.m. EDT. That’s a 64 hour jump on mail delivery, even when the post office is on time! Read the news online at your desk or print out a copy to read at your leisure over the weekend. Either way, you’ll be getting our breaking news even sooner and starting your week off fully informed! To receive email alerts or online access, call 800-715-9195. 13 MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 14 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com PLAN SPONSOR PROFILE Suzanne Bishopric Director, UNJSPF The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) is the world’s largest international pension fund, with $38 billion under management. Susan Bishopric, the fund’s director, uses an expansive, if contrarian, approach to investing, and claims the fund has weathered the economic downturn relatively unscathed. She has worked at the U.N. since 1991, following stints at McDonald’s as the Director of Financial Markets and the Continental Grain Company as a v.p. and senior trader. She was appointed director of the UNJSPF in January of 2008. On Investing for the UN investing, Bishopric is risk-averse in her strategy. “I think pension investing is by nature conservative,” she said. “You need to invest in companies and asset classes with some staying power.” Part of that strategy is ignoring market fads. “Hearing what everybody else is doing can be very interesting,” she said, but added that she wants to avoid “crowded spaces.” “When everybody likes something, one must exercise caution.” As Treasurer of the U.N. investment fund, she shied away from structured investments. Now, she is very cautiously looking at potential investments in alternative assets, specifically funds of hedge funds. On Management and Consultation Only 5% of the U.N.’s investments are externally managed, and the fund has a team of 53 professionals who allocate funds with an eye to asset class and geography, focusing on active management. The externally managed assets are largely in real estate small-cap equity. “The most important thing for the pension fund is staff who are hands-on managers,” she said. “We have found that we are beneficiaries of our own fund and this is in the best alignment of our interests,” she said in explaining the fund’s heavy emphasis on internal management. Bishopric noted that some endowmentbased institutions have begun to follow her investment style. “It looks like Harvard [University] is moving towards our model” of focusing on internal management, she said. Harvard has been increasing its internally managed portfolio since it lost over 27% of its endowment over FY 2009, according to two Harvard Management Company endowment reports. In the same spirit that led to in-house management, the UNJSPF does not often rely on outside consultants. “We don’t have a standing arrangement with any particular consulting firm,” she said. “We do it á la carte.” She said the fund has no upcoming plans to bring on other external managers, and that central to internal stock selection methods are “safety, liquidity, profitability and convertibility.” “When everybody likes something, one must exercise caution.” The UNJSPF is the most diverse international fund by geography. Although there are unique challenges in managing pension assets and liabilities for staff from 192 U.N.-member countries, Bishopric said that on the investment side she doesn’t get “terribly fancy.” “We’re an old fashioned 60/40 fund with a couple of twists.” As of June 30, the U.N. had 61% of the fund in equities and 31% in bonds, with the rest spread across real estate and short-term vehicles, though she is looking to expand the equity investment to 63% and decrease bonds to 29%. Bishopric considers investments in all member states. “We’re continuously looking for investments in developing markets,” she said, noting that the fund is overweight in the MSCI emerging markets index. Investment Strategy UNJSPF’s investments are guided by the Secretary General for Investments, Ban Ki-moon, who is advised by the investment committee. Ban bears the ultimate fiduciary responsibility for the fund, but delegates authority to the Representative of the Secretary-General for Investments, who supervises Bishopric. The last big shift in investing, as Bishopric characterized it, was administered in March 2009 when the fund rebalanced its portfolio by bringing equities “way up” from 51.9%. Even with the enormous latitude that the U.N. allows in its 14 October 4, 2010 Personal Bishopric speaks seven languages: Arabic, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English—the last three fluently. She received her undergraduate degree in biological anthropology and her MBA in Finance and Agribusiness from Harvard University. She was born in England and has lived in Brazil and the U.S.. Her mother, Anne Bishopric Sager, was Mayor of Sarasota, Fla. As for hobbies, she sings in her church choir as a soprano and has done so for 50 years. ©Institutional Investor News 2010. Reproduction requires publisher’s prior permission. MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 15 October 4, 2010 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com Search & Hire Directory Powered by: i i s e a r c h e s . c o m The following directory includes search and hire activity from news and information service iisearches for the two weeks ending Wednesday, Sept. 29. The accuracy of the information, which is derived from many sources, is deemed reliable but cannot be guaranteed. The "Potential" category includes early notice of potential future activity and should not be construed as an ongoing search. All amounts are in US$ millions unless otherwise stated. To report manager hires and new searches, please call Louis Pope, data manager, at (212) 224-3211 or email at [email protected]. The below is a snapshot of activity; for more information, including access to RFPs and contacts, please visit iisearches.com. For further information on iisearches’ daily search leads and searchable database of mandates awarded and lost since 1995, please visit iisearches.com or contact Keith Arends at (212) 224-3533 or [email protected] Potential Searches Total Amount Plan Type Assignment Consultant Comments/Firm Hired USD4,500 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity / All-Cap N/A Strategic Investment Solutions, San Francisco, CA The fund has placed Bivium Capital Partners on watch for organizational changes. There is no timeframe for monitoring the firm. USD60 Public D.B. U.S. / Real Estate N/A Mercer, Los Angeles, CA The fund will consider searching for real estate managers. It does not have any definite plans yet and might not make a decision until next year. The fund’s real estate investments now comprise 8% of the portfolio, below the 15% target. Columbia (Mo.) Police & Firefighters’ Retirement Plan, Columbia, MO USD74.80 Public D.B. U.S. / Consultant N/A None The fund may issue an RFP for an investment consultant within the next two to three months. Until now it managed all the funds in-house without an advisor. Columbia (Mo.) Police & Firefighters’ Retirement Plan, Columbia, MO USD74.80 Public D.B. U.S. / Multi Asset N/A None The fund may issue an RFP for an investment manager within the next two to three months. Until now all of its funds have been managed in-house. Iowa Public Employees Retirement System, Des Moines, IA USD20,600 Public D.B. U.S. / Consultant N/A None The fund will seek a risk management consultant, in part to develop a risk management framework focused on risk tolerance rather than returns. Wilshire Associates won’t bid. Iowa Public Employees Retirement System, Des Moines, IA USD20,600 Public D.B. U.S. / Real Estate / REIT N/A Wilshire Associates, Santa Monica, CA The fund plans to conduct a search for a real estate investment trust manager shortly. It is putting money into REITS in order to maintain its exposure to real estate until the expected 2011-2012 dash to refinance ends. Iowa Public Employees Retirement System, Des Moines, IA USD20,600 Public D.B. U.S. / Alternative / USD824 Real Assets Wilshire Associates, Santa Monica, CA The fund is looking to build out a roughly $824 million allocation to real assets. This will include Treasury inflation-protected securities and, potentially, timber, farmland, master limited partnerships, private energy partnerships, infrastructure or commodities. The fund will meet on Dec. 2 to discuss how to implement the moves. Los Angeles City Employees Retirement USD9,900 System (LACERS), Los Angeles, CA Public D.B. U.S. / Real Estate N/A Courtland Partners, Cleveland, OH The fund was slated to discuss issuing a request for information for a separate account real estate manager at its Sept. 28 board meeting. Merced County Employees Retirement Association, Merced, CA USD450 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity N/A Milliman, San Francisco, CA The fund has placed Delta Asset Management on watch due to poor performance. The board recently reduced its allocation to the firm and reallocated the assets to its international equity and passive equity portfolios. There is no timeframe for monitoring the firm. New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association, Santa Fe, NM USD10,600 Public D.B. International / Active Equity / Small-Cap USD100 R.V. Kuhns & Associates, Portland, OR The fund’s investment committee has recommended launching a new search for active small-cap international money managers. The mandate size has not yet been determined but it may be between $100 million and $150 million. The board will vote on the prospective allocation at its Sept. 30 meeting. New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association, Santa Fe, NM USD10,600 Public D.B. International / Active Equity / Large-Cap Growth N/A R.V. Kuhns & Associates, Portland, OR The fund’s investment committee has recommended a search for an international large-cap growth manager. Neither the timeframe for the search nor the mandate size have been determined. New Mexico State Investment Council, USD13,500 Santa Fe, NM Public D.B. International / Active Equity N/A NEPC, Cambridge, MA The system plans to increase its international equity investments to 15% from 9% over the long term. The funding will come from reducing its hedge fund allocation to 5% from 15%. New Mexico State Investment Council, USD13,500 Santa Fe, NM Public D.B. U.S. / Active Fixed Income N/A NEPC, Cambridge, MA The system has plans to up its domestic bond allocation to 20% from 15% over the long term. Orlando Firefighters Pension Fund, Orlando, FL USD228 Public D.B. U.S. / Real Estate / Value N/A NEPC, Cambridge, MA The plan is considering FLAG Real Estate Partners and Metropolitan Real Estate Partners for a value-added non-core real estate brief. A timeframe for its decision was not disclosed. Orlando Police Pension Fund, Orlando, FL USD342 Public D.B. U.S. / Real Estate / Value N/A NEPC, Cambridge, MA The plan is considering FLAG Real Estate Partners and Metropolitan Real Estate Partners for a value-added non-core real estate brief. The timeframe for a decision was not disclosed. Sacramento County Employees Retirement System, Sacramento, CA USD5,100 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Fixed USD49.60 Income / Debt Mercer, New York, NY The system has dropped European Credit Management for organizational changes. The firm managed roughly $49.6 million in European debt instruments for the fund, which is slated to be redeemed in two installments. Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement System Association, Santa Rosa, CA USD1,300 Public D.B. Global / Active Equity N/A Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly The board expects to make a decision regarding launching a search for a Ennis, Knupp & Associates), global equity manager shortly. Chicago, IL Fund & City Alameda County (Calif.) Employees Retirement Association, Oakland, CA Alaska Railroad Corporation, Anchorage, AK Account Size To receive email alerts or online access, call 800-715-9195. 15 MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 16 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com October 4, 2010 Potential Searches (cont’d) Total Amount Plan Type Assignment Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement System Association, Santa Rosa, CA USD1,300 Public D.B. International / Active Equity N/A Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly The board expects to make a decision on launching a search for a non-U.S. Ennis, Knupp & Associates), equity manager shortly. Chicago, IL Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement System Association, Santa Rosa, CA USD1,300 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Fixed Income / Core-Plus N/A Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly The board will make a decision on launching a search for a core plus fixedEnnis, Knupp & Associates), income manager. Chicago, IL U.S. / Consultant N/A None The fund has issued a request for proposals seeking a consultant for its global equity consultant spring-fed pool. Responses to the RFP are due Nov. 9. Fund & City Account Size Consultant Comments/Firm Hired New Searches CalPERS, Sacramento, CA Cambridge (Mass.) Retirement System, Cambridge, MA USD207,800 Public D.B. USD605 Public D.B. U.S. / Real Estate / Core USD20 Segal Advisors, Boston, MA The fund has issued a request for proposals seeking a core open-ended real estate manager. All proposals are due Oct. 7. USD2,800 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Fixed Income USD200 Pension Consulting Alliance, Portland, OR The fund is seeking active fixed income managers to handle a $200 million brief. Interested parties should contact Pension Consulting Alliance. Jacksonville (Fla.) Police & Fire Pension USD982 Fund, Jacksonville, FL Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity / USD50 Large-Cap Value Summit Strategies Group, St. Louis, MO The fund has issued a request for proposals for a large-cap value mandate of approximately $50 million. All responses are due Oct. 20. New Bedford Contributory Retirement System, New Bedford, MA USD195 Public D.B. Global / Alternative USD20 Segal Advisors, Boston, MA The fund has issued a request for proposals seeking a global tactical asset allocation manager. All proposals are due Oct. 7. New Bedford Contributory Retirement System, New Bedford, MA USD195 Public D.B. Emerging Markets / USD10 Multi Asset Segal Advisors, Boston, MA The fund has issued a request for proposals seeking an emerging markets manager. All proposals are due Oct. 7. Westfield (Mass.) Contributory Retirement System, Westfield, MA USD120 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity None The fund has issued a request for proposals seeking a manager to handle a private equity fund of hedge funds mandate. All proposals are due by Oct. 15. Finals presentations will be held on Dec. 15. USD4,500 Public D.B. International / Active N/A Equity / Small-Cap Strategic Investment Solutions, San Francisco, CA The fund is slated to discuss a short list of candidates for an approximately $105 million international small-cap equity mandate. The fund received responses from eight firms. City of Ann Arbor Employees’ Retirement System , Ann Arbor, MI USD364 Public D.B. Global / Consultant N/A None The fund is currently reviewing 20 proposals in its search for an investment consultant. It may select finalists by month’s end. Colorado Fire & Police Pension Association, Greenwood Village, CO USD2,800 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Fixed Income / Core-Plus N/A Pension Consulting Alliance, Encino, CA The fund has terminated Western Asset Management from a core plus bond mandate. It will move the assets over to a passive aggregate bond exposure in order to fund new fixed income mandates. Colorado Fire & Police Pension Association, Greenwood Village, CO USD2,800 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Fixed USD48 Income / High-Yield Pension Consulting Alliance, Encino, CA The fund has terminated TCW Group from a high-yield bond mandate. The assets will be placed in a passive aggregate bond exposure in order to fund new fixed income mandates. Fairfax County (Va.) Educational Supplemental Employees Retirement System, Springfield, VA USD1,630 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity / N/A Mezzanine Finance NEPC, Cambridge, MA The system has interviewed Permal Capital Management and Lexington Partners and plans to make due diligence visits next month. The moves are part of iprivate equity push; the firm will make a decision on a manager in November. Iowa Public Employees Retirement System, Des Moines, IA USD20,600 Public D.B. Global / Asset Study Wilshire Associates, Santa Monica, CA The fund has recently completed an asset review and has clipped its U.S. equities and fixed income portfolios to build out a roughly $824 million allocation to real assets, including Treasury inflation-protected securities and, potentially, timber, farmland, master limited partnerships, private energy partnerships, infrastructure or commodities. The fund also increased its allocation to private equity to 13% from 10%. Merced County Employees Retirement Association, Merced, CA USD450 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity / N/A Large-Cap Value Milliman, San Francisco, CA EARNEST Partners will remain on watch due to poor performance. The board recently reduced its allocation to the firm and reallocated the assets to its international equity and passive equity portfolios. New York City Employees Retirement System, Brooklyn, NY USD39,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Hedge Funds USD133 Callan Associates, Florham Park, NJ The system has terminated Breeden Capital Management, which ran an . approximately $133 million mandate. The plan’s withdrawal from the firm is expected to take 18-24 months Orlando Firefighters Pension Fund, Orlando, FL USD228 Public D.B. U.S. / Hedge Funds / N/A Fund of Hedge Funds NEPC, Cambridge, MA The fund was slated to interview Crestline Partners, Entrust Capital, GAM USA, and Grosvenor Capital Management for a 5% fund-of- hedge-funds mandate at the end of August. It could not be gleaned whether a final selection has been made. Orlando General Employees Pension Plan, Orlando, FL USD155 Public D.B. U.S. / Hedge Funds / N/A Fund of Hedge Funds NEPC, Cambridge, MA The fund was slated to interview Crestline Partners, Entrust Capital, GAM USA, and Grosvenor Capital Management for a 5% fund-of- hedge-funds mandate at the end of August. It could not be gleaned whether a final selection has been made. Colorado Fire & Police Pension Association, Greenwood Village, CO USD6 Updated Searches Alameda County (Calif.) Employees Retirement Association, Oakland, CA 16 N/A ©Institutional Investor News 2010. Reproduction requires publisher’s prior permission. MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 17 October 4, 2010 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com Updated Searches (cont’d) Total Amount USD155 Plan Type Public D.B. Assignment U.S. / Real Estate / Value Orlando Police Pension Fund, Orlando, FL USD342 Public D.B. Police & Fire Retirement System of Springfield (Mo.), Springfield, MO USD143 Public School Teachers’ Pension & Retirement Fund of Chicago, Chicago, IL Fund & City Orlando General Employees Pension Plan, Orlando, FL Account Size N/A Consultant NEPC, Cambridge, MA Comments/Firm Hired The plan is considering FLAG Real Estate Partners and Metropolitan Real Estate Partners for a value-added non-core real estate brief. The timeframe for a decision was not disclosed. U.S. / Hedge Funds / N/A Fund of Hedge Funds NEPC, Cambridge, MA The fund was slated to interview Crestline Partners, Entrust Capital, GAM USA, and Grosvenor Capital Management for a 5% fund-of- hedge-funds mandate at the end of August. It could not be gleaned whether a final selection has been made. Public D.B. U.S. / Consultant None The board will interview finalists Becker, Burke and Associates, Dahab Associates and Hammond Associates, in its search for an investment consultant. It expects to make a selection by month’s end. USD9,100 Public D.B. U.S. / Hedge Funds / USD25 Fund of Hedge Funds Mercer, New York, NY The fund was expected to select Lasair Capital, Plucios Management and Rock Creek Group as finalists to run a $25 million fund of hedge funds mandate at its Sept. 16 meeting. San Diego City Employees Retirement System, San Diego, CA USD4,400 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group, New York, NY The fund may increase the capital available for co-investments to 30% from the current 20% limit and increase the number of co-investments to as many as 15. It may decide at its Sept. 30 meeting. San Diego City Employees Retirement System, San Diego, CA USD4,400 Public D.B. Global / Asset Study Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement System Association, Santa Rosa, CA USD1,300 Public D.B. U.S. / Alternative / Real Assets USD39 Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly The board is expected to recommend UBS Real Estate to manage a 3% Ennis, Knupp & Associates), allocation to farmland in the UBS AgriVest Farmland fund. Chicago, IL Ventura County Employees Retirement Association, Ventura, CA USD2,750 Public D.B. Global / Active Equity USD100 Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly The fund is looking at managers to potentially replace Acadian Asset Ennis, Knupp & Associates), Management. The firm, which has been on watch for performance since Chicago, IL February, runs a $100 million global equity portfolio for the fund. Hewitt Ennis will conduct a competitive review of small-cap managers to see how the firm stacks up against its peers. Alameda County (Calif.) Employees Retirement Association, Oakland, CA USD4,500 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity / USD170 Small-Cap Value Strategic Investment Solutions, San Francisco, CA Kennedy Capital Management Alameda County (Calif.) Employees Retirement Association, Oakland, CA USD4,500 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity / USD12.50 Venture Capital Strategic Investment Solutions, San Francisco, CA Third Rock Ventures, LLC Alameda County (Calif.) Employees Retirement Association, Oakland, CA USD4,500 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity USD24 Strategic Investment Solutions, San Francisco, CA Sheridan Production Partners Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, Phoenix, AZ USD6,300 Public D.B. Emerging Markets / USD60 Active Fixed Income NEPC, Cambridge, MA Capital Guardian Trust Company Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, Phoenix, AZ USD6,300 Public D.B. U.S. / Hedge Funds USD70 NEPC, Cambridge, MA Och-Ziff Capital Management Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, Phoenix, AZ USD6,300 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity USD40 NEPC, Cambridge, MA H/2 Capital Partners Llc USD131 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity Callan Associates, San Francisco, CA Wellington Management Arkansas Teachers Retirement System, Little Rock, AR USD9,600 Public D.B. U.S. / Alternative / USD40 Timberland/Vineyards Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly RMK Timberland Group Ennis, Knupp & Associates), Chicago, IL Aurora (Colo.) City General Employees Retirement System, Aurora, CO USD285.40 Public D.B. U.S. / Alternative / USD15 Timberland/Vineyards Callan Associates, Denver, CO The Molpus Woodlands Group, LLC City of Ann Arbor Employees’ Retirement System, Ann Arbor, MI USD364 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity / USD5.30 Small-Cap Growth Gray & Company, Atlanta, GA Loomis, Sayles & Company City of Ann Arbor Employees’ Retirement System, Ann Arbor, MI USD364 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity / USD13.70 Small-Cap Growth Gray & Company, Atlanta, GA RhumbLine Advisers City of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ USD2,700 Trust Fund U.S. / Consultant None The city has rehired Southwest Consulting Group in order to advise on federal program money, specifically for programs coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Colorado Fire & Police Pension Association, Greenwood Village, CO USD2,800 Public D.B. U.S. / Passive Fixed Income USD150 Pension Consulting Alliance, Encino, CA BlackRock Contra Costa County Employees USD4,300 Retirement Association, Contra Costa, CA Public D.B. International / Active Equity N/A Milliman, Seattle, WA William Blair & Co. Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division Pension System, Memphis, TN Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity N/A N/A USD4,400 Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly The fund is slated to vote on one of four strategic asset allocation targets at Ennis, Knupp & Associates), its Sept. 30 meeting in order to generate favorable long-term returns and Chicago, IL provide some downside protection for its portfolio. Completed Searches Arkansas Judicial Retirement System, Little Rock, AR USD1,000 USD24 N/A USD15 None To receive email alerts or online access, call 800-715-9195. SSM Partners 17 MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 18 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com October 4, 2010 Completed Searches (cont’d) Total Amount USD5,000 Plan Type Public D.B. Assignment U.S. / Real Estate Account Size USD25 Municipal Employees Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago, Chicago, IL USD5,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Real Estate USD25 Nationwide Funds Group, Philadelphia, PA USD30,000 Manager of U.S. / Active Equity Managers Nationwide Funds Group, Philadelphia, PA USD30,000 Nationwide Funds Group, Philadelphia, PA Fund & City Municipal Employees Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago, Chicago, IL Consultant Marquette Associates, Chicago, IL Comments/Firm Hired American Realty Advisors Marquette Associates, Chicago, IL AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust N/A None Turner Investment Partners Manager of U.S. / Multi Asset Managers N/A None American Century Investments USD30,000 Manager of U.S. / Active Equity / Managers Large-Cap N/A None Diamond Hill Capital Management Nebraska Investment Council, Lincoln, NE USD14,000 Public D.B. International / Passive Equity USD300 Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly Ennis, Knupp & Associates), Chicago, IL State Street Global Advisors Nebraska Investment Council, Lincoln, NE USD14,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity USD15 Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly Ennis, Knupp & Associates), Chicago, IL Aries Capital New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, NY USD125,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity USD50 R.V. Kuhns & Associates , Chicago, IL The Blackstone Group New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, NY USD125,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Hedge Funds / Absolute Return USD75 R.V. Kuhns & Associates , Chicago, IL Elm Ridge Capital Management New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, NY USD125,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity / Venture Capital USD15 R.V. Kuhns & Associates , Chicago, IL High Peaks Venture Partners Oakland Police & Fire Retirement System, Oakland, CA USD4,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Fixed Income / Core-Plus USD45 Pension Consulting Alliance, Encino, CA T. Rowe Price Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, Columbus, OH USD68,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity USD100 Mercer, New York, NY Permal Capital Management Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System, Harrisburg, PA USD1,360 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity / Large-Cap USD60 Dahab Associates, Bay Shore, NY DePrince, Race & Zollo Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System, Harrisburg, PA USD1,360 Public D.B. U.S. / Active Equity / Small-Cap Growth USD33 Dahab Associates, Bay Shore, NY M&I Investment Management Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System, Harrisburg, PA USD30,000 Public D.B. Asia / Private Equity / Buyout USD7 Rocaton Investment Advisors, Darien, CT Asia Alternatives Capital Partners Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System, Harrisburg, PA USD30,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity USD25 Rocaton Investment Advisors, Norwalk, CT Oaktree Capital Management Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System, Harrisburg, PA USD30,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity USD10 Rocaton Investment Advisors, Norwalk, CT JMI Equity Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System, Harrisburg, PA USD30,000 Public D.B. U.S. / Private Equity USD20 Rocaton Investment Advisors, Norwalk, CT Avenue Capital Group San Diego County Employees Retirement Association, San Diego, CA USD7,400 Public D.B. Global / Infrastructure USD75 Hewitt Ennis Knupp (formerly Ennis, Knupp & Associates), Chicago, IL Brookfield Asset Management San Diego County Employees Retirement Association, San Diego, CA USD7,400 Public D.B. U.S. / Real Estate / Core USD200 The Townsend Group, San Francisco, CA JPMorgan Asset Management School Employees Retirement System of Ohio, Columbus, OH USD9,200 Public D.B. Emerging Markets / Active Equity N/A Summit Strategies Group, St. Louis, MO Genesis Investment Management Ltd. School Employees Retirement System of Ohio, Columbus, OH USD9,200 Public D.B. Emerging Markets / Active Equity N/A Summit Strategies Group, St. Louis, MO Hexam Capital Partners Stanislaus County Employees Retirement Association, Modesto, CA USD1,200 Public D.B. U.S. / Infrastructure USD30 Strategic Investment Solutions, San Francisco, CA Kohlberg Kravis Roberts None Smith, Graham & Company State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), Boston, MA USD 1e+006 Manager of U.S. / Active Fixed Managers Income / MortgageBacked Securities Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, Nashville, TN USD29,800 Public D.B. U.S. / Alternative / Energy USD30 Cambridge Associates, Boston, MA EnCap Investments Texas Municipal Retirement System, Austin, TX USD17,000 Public D.B. Global / Passive Fixed Income / Treasury Inflation Protected Securities USD850 R.V. Kuhns & Associates , Chicago, IL Colchester Global Investors N/A For a complete version of the Searh & Hire Director y, please visit www.moneymanagementletter.com 18 ©Institutional Investor News 2010. Reproduction requires publisher’s prior permission. MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 19 October 4, 2010 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com FLORIDA SBA (continued from page 1) June 2011, said Deputy Executive Director Kevin SigRist at the board’s quarterly meeting on Sept. 27. The increase is the result of an asset allocation study in June by consultant Ennis Knupp, led by Chicago-based Principal Mike Sebastian. After hearing proposals at the meeting from real estate consultant the Townsend Group, the fund will adjust its real estate investments as well. SBA may devote as much as $500 million to debt-oriented strategies, $1 billion to hedge funds and related vehicles, $800 million to real assets, and $200 million to other opportunistic and special situations to diversify its alts portfolio further. Within the real assets area, the SBA is considering two timber managers for a potential $350 million allocation, assisted by the Townsend Group. The fund is also evaluating infrastructure investments. For the rest of the real assets area, the SBA has considered commodities, but SigRist said the board might prefer commodities-focused private equity. The board’s infrastructure discussions have so far been preliminary—mostly about where and how it can invest— according to Communications Director Dennis MacKee, and there’s no formal search. The board is also filling out its hedge fund portfolio and plans to commit $500-$700 million to six managers after due diligence. The fund just closed a $125 million allocation to a corporate activist hedge fund and has chosen the six other managers for event-driven, credit-oriented, and equity long/short strategies. MacKee declined to name the managers. The SBA plans to shift focus to core strategies for its 27% allocation to fixed income, where the focus was previously on core-plus. The board believes the fund has enough high-yield exposure from approximately $3.7 billion of debt-oriented commitments (some of which are unfunded) in its strategic investments and will wind down its high-yield fixed-income bucket, where it employs four managers, SigRist said. The board will likely retain one manager in the space and will complete the transition in October or November. It plans to bring about half of total fixed income management in-house, said MacKee. The fund has eight incumbents handling the allocation. SBA is also looking for global REIT managers, as it determines whether it can move domestic accounts with its current managers to global mandates, SigRist said. The board decided this summer to move its domestic REIT allocation to a global one in consultation with The Townsend Group. The firm also suggested in the meeting that the board boost its ceiling for non-core real estate investment from 20% to 30% to squeeze more alpha from the sector. The board has continued its combination of domestic and international equities into a global allocation planned in the study, hiring M&I Investment Management Corp., Cupps Capital Management, and Signia Capital Management for small-cap mandates, said MacKee. He declined to disclose the size of the investments. The fund has also narrowed the list of candidates to replace the fund’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer—the previous COO/CFO Gwenn Thomas announced her plans to retire this summer. Thomas will leave after her replacement is on board. Ash Williams, executive director and cio, said at the meeting that the fund has narrowed down its field of candidates and may make two hires. —Alexandra Scaggs TRIAL ORDER FORM www.moneymanagementletter.com ❑ YES! Please begin my no-risk free trial to Money Management Letter today! 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Box 5016, Brentwood TN 37024-5016 MML100410 9/30/10 5:03 PM Page 20 Money Management Letter www.moneymanagementletter.com IPERS PREPS October 4, 2010 OKLAHOMA TEACHERS (continued from page 1) (continued from page 1) The fund plans to take distributions in its private real estate portfolio to fund its planned REIT investments in order to maintain exposure to real estate until uncertainty surrounding an anticipated dash to refinance by real estate developers in 20112012 is past. At that point the fund may reduce its REIT exposure and return to increased private real estate investments, Koch said. The plan is seeking a risk management consultant to develop a risk management framework focused on risk tolerance rather than returns, Koch said. IPERS’ consultant, Los Angeles-based Wilshire Associates, has agreed not to bid for the mandate. IPERS’ new targets are U.S. equities at 23%, international equities at 15%, private equity at 13%, core plus bonds at 28%, high-yield bonds at 5%, TIPS at 5%, real estate at 8% real assets at 2% and cash at 1%. —Carl Winfield yields, even if commodities prices are in decline. He also noted, as a caveat, that master limited partnerships can be volatile since they’re traded in the equity market daily. Managers interested in a mandate from the fund must have at least three years of experience with master limited partnerships and at least two tax-exempt clients with total fund assets of $250 million or more. Oklahoma is the latest fund to commit to master limited partnerships this year. The Philadelphia Board of Pension and Retirement committed $60 million to master limited partnerships earlier this month. Knoxville City Employees Retirement Fund put $20 million into a master limited partnership with Leahwood, Kan.-based Tortoise Capital Advisors in August (MML Daily, 8/23). The Arkansas Local Police & Fire Retirement System committed $5 million to a master limited partnership run by Chickasaw Capital Management in June (MML Daily, 6/8). —C.W. At Press Time City of Newport To Look For Active Equity The City of Newport Trust and Investment Commission may look for active managers for either an $8.2 million large-cap growth mandate or a $6.6 million international equity mandate in early 2011. Newport will also interview finalists for a firsttime foray into commercial real estate on Oct. 7. The commission, which manages $66 million for the police and fire pension plan and $13.8 million in a trust for other postemployment benefits (or OPEB), currently has all the money in index accounts with Vanguard. Senior Accountant Jennifer Findlay said the commission had decided to keep the funds in passive management because of recent market turmoil. It terminated Artio Global Investors earlier this year and Marvin & Palmer in 2009 for international and large-cap equity mandates, respectively. Both managers declined to comment (MML Daily, 4/8). Newport may choose a commercial real estate manager to manage 5% of its fire and police pension plan next month, Findlay said. The city’s consultant, Dahab Associates, assisted with the search. The commission will interview American Realty Advisors, Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors, and UBS Realty Investors Oct. 7, and could choose a manager shortly thereafter. Any investment would be the city’s first in real estate. The commission has considered real estate investment for more than a year, but delayed its decision because of market conditions. If the hire is made, the funding will come through a general rebalancing. 20 Quote Of The Week “Hearing what everybody else is doing can be inter esting [but] when everybody likes something, one must ex ercise caution.” — Suzanne Bishopric , director of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, on risk aversion in the fund’s investment strategy (see Plan Sponsor Profile, page 14). One Year Ago In Money Management Letter The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System had allocated 3% of its portfolio to Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, reducing its fixed-income allocation to do so. [In June, the board chose to split the $600 million TIPS mandate between BlackRock, which will be managing $300 million passiv ely, and Fishcer, Francis, Trees & Watts, which will manage the same amount actively (MML Daily, 6/28).] Five Years Ago The Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board was looking for managers for $425 million in global emerging market equity after terminating Capital Guardian Trust Co. for poor performance. [Most recently, the board has given its $650 million core and core value real estate mandate with RREEF to its incumbents in the ar ea (MML Daily 6/1/10), and named Michael Trotsky executive director after former director Michael Travaglini moved to a hedge fund in J une (MML Daily 8/5/10).] ©Institutional Investor News 2010. Reproduction requires publisher’s prior permission.