The $1.3 billion Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority pension fund is searching for an intermediate-term fixed-income manager.
Callan Associates is conducting the search; no RFPs will be issued. A decision is expected by December.
Funding will come from reductions in existing high-yield bond accounts managed by Loomis Sayles, Boston Co. and Lazard Freres. Because of strong performance, the high-yield sector has gotten "out of whack from the AA sector," said Jack Gallahue, executive director.
The fund also has committed $5 million each to three venture capital limited partnerships: IAI Venture Fund II, a fund managed by IAI Ventures Inc., and WPG Venture Fund IV and CDA Fund II, both managed by Weiss, Peck & Greer.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management reached agreement to acquire Liberty Investment Management. The deal is expected to close in January; terms were not disclosed.
Liberty's management, headed by CEO Herbert Ehlers, will remain with the firm.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System investment committee asked its staff for an update on the recent suspension and U.K. regulatory investigation of one of Morgan Grenfell's European portfolio managers. The committee also asked its staff to include for its Nov. 18 meeting a recommendation on whether to place Morgan Grenfell on probation.
Morgan Grenfell actively manages more than $700 million in international equities for the fund, which has $100 billion in assets.
Deutsche Morgan Grenfell recently dismissed the head of its asset management division and three other executives concerning alleged bogus values placed on stock held by three investment funds. Keith Percy, chief executive of Morgan Grenfell Asset Management , was among thosedismissed in the case involving fund manager Peter Young.
The $614 million Stanislaus County Retirement Association, Modesto, Calif., could be hiring its first international manager.
Trustees will be discussing the recommendation of consultant SEI Capital Resources to invest $20 million internationally at their November board meeting, said Robert Harmon, retirement manager.
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-capitalization recommendation made by former SEI consultants. Mr. Harmon said 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.
The Rhode Island State Investment Commission, Providence, is issuing an RFP for an administrator for the Rhode Island State Employees' 457 tax-deferred compensation plan. Aetna Life and Variable Life Annuity provide annuities for the $83.6 million plan; both will be allowed to compete. Recent
legislation has made it possible for the commission to look for a single provider with more investment options, said Steve Klamkin, spokesman. Candidates need to offer no-load mutual funds, a selection of funds from more than one family, record keeping and education.
A deadline for responses has not been set.
The National Association of Securities Dealers cleared former brokerage MMAR Inc. of charges it committed fraud in its dealings with the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System.
The NASD's business conduct committee reversed findings of a NASD district committee, which had ordered MMAR to repay the system $10 million to $47 million in alleged overcharges and excessive fees from selling securities between 1990 and 1994.
MMAR spokesman Bill Fincher said the NASD decision completely exonerates MMAR.
A system spokesman said a lawsuit to recover the alleged losses is still pending and said trustees would review the NASD action.
The $210 million Worcester _Retirement System, Worcester, Mass., is considering timberland investments, said James A. DelSignore, city auditor and trustee.
"We're going to take a good hard look at it," he said. He expects a decision by year end. Dahab Associates is assisting.
KeyCorp instituted a new asset management executive structure to coordinate investment management across the bank's product lines and subsidiaries.
William G. Spears was appointed group executive for asset management, and Richard Buoncore, W. Christopher Maxwell and Gary Martzolf were named executive vice presidents, reporting to Mr. Spears. Mr. Spears will remain as chairman of Spears Benzak Salomon & Farrell, the money management subsidiary KeyCorp acquired last year.
Mr. Buoncore, who was a managing director of Spears Benzak, will be responsible for overseeing the bank's investment management subsidiaries: Spears Benzak, Society Asset Management and Applied Technology Investments. Mr. Maxwell, chief executive officer of Key's Mutual Fund Advisers unit, will head the mutual funds division. Mr. Martzolf, formerly director of trust investments, will head investment product delivery, focusing on sales and marketing across KeyCorp's private bank, wealth management and corporate banking divisions.
The Internal Revenue Service has issued rules for small employers who want to adopt the new SIMPLE savings plan for employees, an easy-to-administer plan Congress sanctioned in August.
Starting Jan. 1, employers with 100 or fewer workers can offer the SIMPLE plan, but must give employees 60 days to look it over before the first contributions are made.The 60-day period can begin as early as Nov. 2.
Employers can choose a date after Nov. 2, but they would have to provide a continuous 60-day window for employees. The window starts only after all eligible employees are notified they can join the plan.
The IRS said it will address plans established after Jan. 1 in another announcement.
Twentieth Century Mutual Funds and Benham Group have picked American Century Investments as the name of the merged company.
Effective Jan. 1, the company will realign its 66 mutual funds into three asset style groups to provide "better clarity" for investors, said W. Gordon Snyder, chief marketing officer.
Conservative bond and money market funds will be called the Benham funds and will form one of the style groups. Aggressive growth funds will be grouped under the Twentieth Century name. Moderate funds, including three strategic asset allocation funds introduced last spring, will be grouped under the American Century name.
Brandy Nielsen, Frank Russell Trust Co.'s Western region maketing and sales director, died Oct. 21 of heart failure. Mr. Nielsen, 54, had worked for Russell for 15 years; previously, he was with Prudential. He also was chairman of the Pacific Rim Financial Center Advisory Board at the University of Washington School of Business Administration.
