B.A. Ballou Co.
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. - B.A. Ballou Co. Inc. hired NYL Benefit Services as bundled service provider for its approximately $8 million 401(k) plan. Previously, NYL had been used for investments only; Watson Wyatt had provided the other services.
Now, NYL will provide investment management, record keeping, administration and employee education and communication.
Bush Foundation
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The $560 million Bush Foundation hired two real estate managers to invest $10 million each in commingled funds, said CFO Gerald M. Skogley. AMB Institutional Realty Advisors will run a core portfolio and Walton Street will take a more aggressive approach.
The hirings bring the foundation's real estate allocation to 10%, its target level.
Funding came from a reallocation among managers.
DeMarche Associates assisted.
Charlotte Surgical Group
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Charlotte Surgical Group hired Regis Retirement Plan Services to provide quarterly valued record keeping services for its $8.7 million 401(k)/money purchase pension plan.
Regis provides all administration, trust, employee education and communications, compliance testing and automated voice-response systems, said Lee Barbieri, plan administrator.
The plan retained its current investment lineup. Participants may choose to let their employer direct investments, through James Meyer and Sterling Capital, or take complete control of their plan assets in any investment vehicle they choose.
The plan previously was valued annually with record keeping services provided by a South Carolina accountant, which Mr. Barbieri did not identify.
Community Bank
PASADENA, Calif. - Community Bank hired Regis Retirement Plan Services to provide fully bundled, daily valued services for its $15 million 401(k) plan. Six investment options, all managed by UAM subsidiaries, will be offered beginning Oct. 1.
Regis also will provide full trust, administrative, employee investment education and communications and automated voice response services.
The bank now uses a bundled service from First Interstate Bank, which was purchased by Wells Fargo Bank, said Diane Plourde, human resources representative.
Fall River Retirement
FALL RIVER, Mass. - The $120 million City of Fall River (Mass.) Contributory Retirement System picked State Street Global Advisors as its first international stock manager, said Florence Pires, executive secretary.
State Street will manage $4 million, which will come from equal cutbacks in the allocations to Freedom Capital and Baybanks, the fund's two other managers.
Illinois State Board
CHICAGO - The $5.3 billion Illinois State Board of Investment made $20 million in alternative investment commitments - $10 million to the Golder Thoma Cressey Rauner Fund V, which focuses on industry consolidation, and $10 million to Madison Dearborn Partners II, a buy-out and special equity fund, said Jane Patterson, executive director.
Kansas State University
MANHATTAN, Kansas - Making its first move to indexing, the $90 million Kansas State University Foundation endowment fund hired BZW Barclays Global Investors to manage an undisclosed amount two stock index funds.
David L. Weaver, vice president-real estate and investments, said funding came from reducing the endowment's fixed-income allocation to 25% from more than 30% and reallocating from active equity managers.
F.B. Capital assisted.
Missouri State Employees'
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The $3.2 billion Missouri State Employees' Retirement System hired Morgan Grenfell Investment Services to manage an $80 million emerging markets equity allocation, said CIO Rick Dahl.
Funding came from eliminating an in-house managed allocation to real estate, equaling 5% of assets. The emerging market allocation represents 2.5% of the fund; the other 2.5% will be reallocated in the future, either to another asset class or to a different type of real estate vehicle such as REITs or a commingled fund, Mr. Dahl said.
Summit Strategies assisted.
Morton Plant Mease
DUNEDIN, Fla. - Morton Plant Mease Health Care hired American Express to provide quasi-bundled services for its $42 million profit sharing-plan, said Craig Brethauer, vice president-human resources.
Of the seven investment options, five are from American Express and one each from Manning & Napier and Templeton International.
American Express provides daily valued record keeping, trust and administrative services, employee education and communications and an automated voice response system.
The new plan combines and standardizes benefits provided by two older plans. Mr. Brethauer wouldn't identify the previous record keeper and investment managers.
Parker-Hannifin Corp.
CLEVELAND - The $600 million pension fund of Parker-Hannifin Corp. rebalanced its fund and hired three new managers.
Putnam Investments will manage $53 million in core equity growth; Capital Guardian Trust will manage $35 million in international equity; and Apodaca-Johnston will manage $35 million in small-cap equity.
The fund needed to be rebalanced for diversification purposes, said Tim Pistell, treasurer. The international and small-cap exposures are new to the fund, he added. Funding for the new managers will come from reducing allocations to existing managers; none was terminated.
SEI Corp. assisted.
ProMutual
BOSTON - ProMutual, an insurer with $1.3 billion in assets, gave an incumbent $50 million more, and hired another firm, also for $50 million.
Incumbent fixed-income manager Putnam Investments was given $50 million to manage in convertible bonds, while Fidelity was hired to manage $50 million in core U.S. equities, said Phil Martell, assistant controller.
Putnam already manages more than $100 million in a bond index fund, Mr. Martell said. The assets were taken from a manager he declined to name.
Fidelity's hiring is the insurers first move into equities, and was funded with cash flow, he said.
SEI assisted.
Randolph-Macon College
ASHLAND, Va. - The $44 million Randolph-Macon College endowment fund hired two alternative investment managers, said William L. Ball Jr., treasurer.
The Common Fund was assigned $1 million in venture capital, boosting the endowment's total allocation in the area to $4 million. Davidson Kempner was assigned $1 million for a hedge fund, increasing the endowment's total allocation to the area to $2 million. Funding came from new cash flow.
Cambridge Associates assisted.
Sharp Electronics Corp.
MAHWAH, N.J. - Sharp Electronics Corp. hired American Express Institutional Services to provide quasi-bundled services for its $51 million 401(k) plan. Six investment options will be offered: an AIM equity fund and an international equity fund from Templeton along with four funds managed by American Express.
American Express also is providing daily valued record keeping, trust and administration, employee education and communications and an automated voice-response system.
The company previously used an unbundled approach, with quarterly valued record keeping from Buck Consultants and four investment options managed by Equitable, said Raymond Kosinski, benefits manager.
Vermont Treasury
MONTPELIER, Vt. - Vermont Treasurer Jim Douglas hired The to study the feasibility of converting the state's two public defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans.
Affected would be the $700 million State Teachers' Retirement System and the $622 million State Employees' Retirement Board.
Segal's report is due in mid-August.
Also, the employees' plan hired Alliance Capital Management to run $35 million in an S&P 500 index fund, Mr. Douglas said. Alliance already manages $20 million in international equities for the fund.
Funding for the indexed portfolio came from Nicholas-Applegate, which was terminated last month.
Worcester County
WORCESTER, Mass. - The $174 million Worcester County Retirement System picked Keystone Investments to manage $8 million in small-cap growth stocks, said Alison Ellsworth, the Segal Advisors consultant to the fund. Funding came from cash and from taking $3 million from the $11 million in small-cap stocks managed by David L. Babson.
