Royal Bank of Canada and its wholly owned subsidiary, Royal Trust, today finalized an agreement to acquire the institutional and pension custody and related businesses of both Toronto-based Montreal Trust and Scotiabank. Terms were not disclosed.
Montreal Trust is a subsidiary of the Bank of Nova Scotia and a member of the Scotiabank Group of Companies.
Under the agreement, Royal Bank Financial Group will acquire about C$120 billion (U.S. $88.5 billion) of client assets under custodial administration.
The $200 million pension fund of Milwaukee Transport Services Inc., Milwaukee, pulled its $15 million investment from the Amcap mutual fund, managed by American Fund Advisors, because of poor performance.
The pension fund had been invested in Amcap for about 18 years, but Amcap had been performing poorly for the last three or four years, said Kenneth Warren, deputy director.
The money will be put into an equity mutual fund managed by Heartland Advisors and an equity fund and a fixed-income fund managed by Firstar. The plan will now have six mutual funds and does not plan to replace American, he said.
An American spokesman said executives could not immediately comment on the move.
Only 3% of U.K. employers - mostly in banking and pharmaceutical sectors - switched to a defined contribution plan last year, contrary to popular perception of a wholesale shift, according to the National Association of Pension Funds' annual survey.In contrast, 1% of schemes (five employers) replaced money purchase plans with defined benefit plans. ``The final salary scheme is not dead,'' said NAPF Director General Ann Robinson.
SEARCHES & HIRINGS
Plymouth County Retirement System, Plymouth, Mass., is starting a search for its first outside domestic manager.
The $250 million fund's consultant, Bill O'Donnell of the Hannah Group, is sending out RFIs for the $25 m illion balanced mandate. Assets will come from the $200 million now managed internally. After an initial screening process, RFPs will be sent out in March. The deadline for RFIs is Feb. 28.
The fund's three existing managers - Bran dywine Asset Management, Van Kampen and Bank of Ireland - all invest in international stocks or bonds.
San Antonio (Texas) City Public Service pension fund is in the preliminary stages of adding a domestic aggressive income/value equities manager, said a fund official who asked not to be named. Executives of the $515 million fund have not yet settled other issues, such as the size of the account or who might be considered for it. Inquiries should be directed to its consultant, Smith Barney Inc., Austin.
Mid-America Dairymen, Springfield, Mo., hired Charles Schwab for investment options and record keeping for its $50 million 401(k) plan, said Les Long, plan administrator.
Fidelity Investments had provided five options and offered Stanwich Benefits Group as record keeper through its Fidelity Advisor 401(k) program.
Schwab replaced those funds with similar funds through its OneSource program. Funds selected: Montag & Caldwell's aggressive growth fund, Scudder's growth and income fund, INVESCO's balanced fund, Loomis Sayles' bond fund and Schwab's stable value GIC fund. Two new funds will be added: Ivy Asset Management's international active equity fund and an S&P 500 index fund from Schwab.
Morgan Keegan assisted.
District Council of Iron Workers of Northern New Jersey, Newark, hired Putnam Institutional Management to manage a $45 million balanced portfolio for its defined benefit plan.
Rita Szabo, acting executive directory, said Putnam replaced an existing manager she wouldn't name. Smith Barney Consulting Group assisted.
Frank Russell Trust Co., Tacoma, Wash., hired three managers for a new institutional small-cap fund, the FRTC Small Cap Fund.
Fiduciary Trust International is managing small-cap growth, Barclays Global Investors is managing small-cap value and Westpeak Investment Advisors is managing small-cap, market-oriented stocks.
The new pooled fund is benchmarked to the Russell 2500 Index and is managed by Nola Williams.
Principal Mutual Life Insurance Co., New York, hired Fidelity and Morgan Stanley Asset Management to manage some investment portfolios in its new variable universal life policy.
PrinFlex Life has 13 investment options and a fixed option. Princor Management Corp., a subsidiary, also manages some of the options
