DuPont, Wilmington, Del., has begun internally managing the pension assets of its Conoco unit in the United Kingdom, part of a sweeping program to coordinate pension policies and practices worldwide.
Jack Stair, senior consultant, said DuPont will ``do something similar'' with the pension assets of its DuPont U.K. unit in the near future.
DuPont has eliminated the five external managers used by the Conoco pension fund; its DuPont U.K. fund has two outside managers, said Mr. Stair.
He did not name the managers involved.
The $88 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, is expected to release an RFP Nov. 17 for a real estate consultant. The deadline for questions on the RFP is Dec. 6; the final filing date is Jan. 12. Selection of finalists is expected March 18, and interviews will be held in April. The current consultant, Pension Consulting Alliance/E&Y Kenneth Leventhal, is expected to compete.
The $385 million pension fund of Centerior Energy Corp., Independence, Ohio, changed Wells Fargo Nikko's assignment as part of a restructuring of its equity allocation, said Gregory A. Tropf, senior investment analyst.
The manager will run a $27 million enhanced S&P 500 index fund.
Assets came from dropping a $15 million Wells Fargo Nikko growth equity portfolio, which replicated the S&P/BARRA Growth Index, and from other managers whose assignments are under review.
Summit Strategies Group assisted in the changes.
The $70 billion New York State and Local Retirement Systems, Albany, and Union Labor Life Insurance will fund a $300 million commercial mortgage co-investment program that will finance real estate development using union labor in New York, according to state Comptroller H. Carl McCall, the pension fund's sole trustee.
The fund will invest $200 million and Union Labor Life will invest $100 million, according to a statement by Mr. McCall. The $300 million will be invested through Union Labor's J for Jobs mortgage separate account.
Despite the growth in pension assets from big investment gains in the stock and bond markets this year, corporate pension funding could worsen for 1995. That, in turn, could cause some companies to step up or resume pension contributions, according to Larry Wiltse, Buck Consultants consulting actuary, and Gregory D. Hansen, principal, Towers Perrin.
Falling interest rates have caused pension liabilities to rise sharply, forcing companies to use a lower interest rate to discount their pension liabilities. This year, ``we're seeing a net growth in liabilities in excess of the return on assets,'' Mr. Wiltse said. ``We've had a decline in interest rates'' in 1995 ``and that's principally what affects the value of benefits,'' compared to return on assets. ``A lot of companies are coming out of fully funded status and will have to make pension contributions again.''
``You might see a slight decline in funded status in 1995,'' he added.
Trading in options on the Super Cap Sector index, which contains the five most highly capitalized U.S. companies, began today on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.
The Super Cap Sector index contains AT&T, Coca-Cola, Exxon, General Electric and Philip Morris. Together, the five companies represent 10.74% of the S&P 500 Index, according to S&P.
CORRECTION: The $500 million pension fund for the NFL Players Association, Washington, hired Neumeier Investment Counsel to manage a $22 million small-cap portfolio. The Nov. 2 P&I Daily incorrectly reported the fund hired Numeric Investors
