California State Teachers' Retirement System board members are expected to hear an asset allocation presentation from consultant Pension Consulting Alliance April 9. The board could make adjustments at that time to the allocation, said James Mosman, fund CEO. The $68.5 billion Sacramento-based fund's $7 billion TAA fund also could be adjusted or eliminated.
The board also expects to conduct finalist interviews for the CIO post on April 10. Mr. Mosman said he couldn't say how many candidates will be interviewed because the search is still in progress. One of the candidates is expected to be current CIO Thomas E. Flanigan.
Penn Traffic Co., Syracuse, N.Y., is studying changes in the design and manager lineup of both its $100 million 401(k) plan and $300 million in defined benefit plans.
The company is in the early stages of talking to vendors, said Bernadette Barber, director of compensation, benefits, payroll and HR systems. The company uses PanAgora Asset Management for its 401(k) plan and nine defined benefit plans. She expects to be ready to implement changes within six to eight months. Coopers & Lybrand is assisting.
Bay Area Painters & Tapers Pension Fund Trust, San Francisco, might replace a balanced manager that runs $60 million to $70 million of the fund's $300 million in assets. Officials have been disappointed with performance during the run-up in the stock market, said CFO Alex Lawrence. He would not name the firm. If the board replaced the firm, it would be in another three or four months, he said.
Limon Dyson, the fund's investment analyst, is assisting.
University of Pennsylvania endowment fund, Philadelphia, will be going into alternative investments within the next year, said Philip Yarmolyk, investment analyst. The $2.3 billion fund is compiling a list of prospective firms and will meet again in early May. It is too early to tell how much will be allocated to alternative investments, but it could be 5% to 6% of assets, Mr. Yarmolyk said. Cambridge Associates is assisting.
Brunswick Capital Management (Cayman) launched the Brunswick Russian Growth Fund. Managed out of London, the fund will be targeted to institutional investors worldwide. It will invest largely in actively traded Russian equities but focus on little-known companies to achieve long-term capital growth. The fund will be an open-end, no-load fund - one of the first of its type to focus exclusively on Russian equities, the company said in a release. Brunswick Capital Management Ltd. will be the adviser.
Brunswick Capital Management (Cayman) is part of the Brunswick group.
HIRINGS
Perkin-Elmer Corp., Norwalk, Conn., hired BEA Associates as a domestic fixed-income manager for its $700 million defined benefit plan.
BEA will replace Ark Asset Management. Ark, which managed $58 million, was terminated because of poor performance, said Jim Maher, senior manager support services.
Ark officials would not comment on the termination.
BEA initially will run $7.5 million; that will increase depending on the bond market, Mr. Maher said. The rest was given to existing bond manager Mellon Equity Associates. New England Pension Consultants assisted.
Crain Communications Inc., Chicago, has added two investment options to its $52 million defined contribution profit-sharing plan. As of April 1, employees will be able to direct retirement dollars into the Franklin Small Cap Growth Fund and the Templeton Foreign Fund, both from the Franklin Templeton family of funds. The company currently offers five investment options. Crain publishes P&I Daily.
Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation Inc., New York, hired the Walden Brandywine Investment Trust for a socially screened international equity portfolio, its first move to international, said Stephen Viederman, president of the $65 million foundation.
Assets came from a reallocation.
Chicago Hospital Risk Pooling Program retained SEI Consulting as a full-time consultant for its $200 million liability fund. SEI had been working with the fund on a project-by-project. SEI will monitor performance, benchmarks and investment policy, said Ken Skertich, trust administrator.
WHO'S NEWS
Merle Wilkins was named the new administrator of the $160 million Charlotte (N.C.) Firefighters' Retirement System. Ms. Wilkins replaces Robb Hubbs, who became pension administrator for the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Employees' Retirement System.
Ms. Wilkins, who starts next week, was former executive director for the Austin (Texas) Employees' Retirement & Pension Fund. Caroline Tollefson is acting executive director for the Austin fund
