Stanislaus County Retirement Association, Modesto, Calif., could be hiring its first international manager soon if the county board follows recommendations of consultant SEI Capital Resources, said Robert Harmon, retirement manager. Trustees of the $614 million defined benefit fund will be discussing the recommendation to invest $20 million internationally at the November board meeting.
If approved, the new asset class would require hiring another manager, he said. Dodge and Cox has been the fund's sole manager.
The board also is looking at a $20 million small-cap recommendation that was made by Robert Connin and Nicole Stewart, who both left SEI in early September. Mr. Harmon said that David Russell, the fund's new consultant, thought the small-cap mandate mirrored the fund's large-cap investments and that international investing was a better way to manage risk.
Assets for the new mandate likely would come from a reduction in Dodge & Cox's assets and from short-term reserve funds.
