Manchester Employees’ Contributory drops portable-alpha portfolio

Manchester (N.H.) Employees’ Contributory Retirement System terminated Benchmark Partners from a $5 million portable-alpha portfolio, confirmed Gerard E. Fleury, executive director.

The action is the result of a vote by the $166 million pension fund’s board at its meeting on Tuesday to cancel its portable-alpha program.

The board had terminated its other portable-alpha manager, Gottex Fund Management, which ran about $4 million, in January because of personnel changes.

Investment consultant NEPC recommended the pension fund simply withdraw from portable alpha because it determined the program is more beneficial to larger pension funds with more internal resources, said Mr. Fleury in a telephone interview.

How the assets will be reallocated has yet to be determined, but they will likely either be put in an S&P 500 index fund or permanently reallocated to existing managers, said Mr. Fleury.

— Contact Rob Kozlowski at rkozlowski@pionline.com | @Kozlowski_PI