The 390 million-plus (U.S. $585 million) pension fund of Fisons PLC, Ipswich, England, hired PDFM Ltd. to run a 63 million balanced portfolio, said Roger Cobley, director of group pensions for the pharmaceuticals firm.
PDFM replaced Newton Investment Management partly because of performance reasons and changes in the manager's internal structure, and partly from a desire to boost the fund's bond exposure, said Chris Squires, Fisons' pensions finance manager. PDFM has a higher bond allocation than most U.K. balanced managers. Officials at Newton confirmed that the firm had been dropped, but wouldn't comment further.
Stamford Associates (UK) Ltd. was the consultant.