Pipe Trades Twin Cities Pension Fund, St. Paul, Minn., is considering changing its $215 million supplemental cash balance plan into an employee-directed plan.
The board of trustees will discuss the option of hiring additional managers, said James J. Hynes, executive administrator. The supplemental plan now has four managers: Dean Witter InterCapital, First Asset Management, Voyageur Asset Management and Cronin. No searches have been scheduled.
Fidelity Magellan's assets from defined contribution plans grew only 3.9% last year, a drastic drop from the 50%-plus growth rates of previous years. Magellan has $53.8 billion in assets, of which $30.3 billion came from DC plans.
Peter Smail, president of Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services, attributed the slow growth to results of the company's education programs, which encourage assets diversification. But he acknowledged ``Magellan's performance did disappoint last year.'' The fund returned 11.69% for the year ended Dec. 31, compared with 22.96% for the S&P 500 Index.
SEARCHES & HIRINGS
Seattle City Employees issued RFPs for a fixed-income manager. The $1.1 billion fund is seeking a manager for its entire $300 million bond portfolio.
Phoenix Duff & Phelps manages about $200 million and the rest is run internally, said Roger Howeiler, executive director. Phoenix will be allowed to participate, he said. A manager is expected to be in place by July 1. Wurts & Associates is assisting.
Fulton County Retirement System, Atlanta, named three finalists for its $50 million value manager search. Sanford C. Bernstein, Dodge & Cox and Miller, Anderson & Sherrerd will be interviewed by the $625 million fund the first week of April, with a hiring expected April 9. Funding will come from an existing manager, which a fund official would not identify; whether the firm will be terminated has not been decided.
At its March board meeting, a new target allocation of 20% to non-U.S. equities was approved, up from 10%. Funding will come from investment income and bonds.
Changes in money managers are not expected. Watson Wyatt assisted.
Knight Ridder Inc., Miami, hired Pacific Investment Management to manage half of the $190 million in fixed-income investments in its $600 million pension fund, said Jerry M. Marshall, assistant vice president, financial services. All fixed-income assets were managed by RCM Capital; now, RCM manages half. Stratford Advisory Group assisted.
SKF USA Inc., Orlando, Fla., hired STI Capital Management and Driehaus Capital to manage international equity for its $430 million defined benefit plan. STI will run $45 million in international value and Driehaus will run $15 million in non-U.S. growth equity.
The assets came from reallocating among other managers and the international allocation handled by SEI Investments, which was terminated because of performance, said Treasurer Brian Duffy. Performance Analytics assisted. SEI officials did not return calls.
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, hired two managers for its $240 million endowment fund, said Charles M. Peccolo Jr., treasurer. AEW will run a REIT portfolio. TCW Group will run a small-cap growth stock portfolio. Each will get $10 million. Funding will come from cash flow. Reiser-Builder assisted.
Alexian Brothers Health System, Elk Grove, Ill., hired Boston Partners Asset Management and Rothschild as equity managers for its $46 million defined benefit plan.
Boston Partners will handle $16 million in core value equity and replaces State Street Global Advisors. Rothschild manages $5.4 million in small-cap equity and replaces Firstar's Portico Special Growth Fund. State Street and Portico were terminated because of performance, said Christine Ostermeier, manager of treasury and capital finance. State Street and Portico officials did not return calls.
The system also hired Putnam as an additional core growth equity manager for its corporate assets. Putnam will run $16 million.
Yanni-Bilkey assisted.
WHO'S NEWS
Gary Carter, CIO for the $13.8 billion State of Connecticut Retirement & Trust Funds, Hartford, will leave his position at the end of the month to become CFO at Aetna Business Resources. Greg Franklin, a principal investment officer with the Connecticut funds, will serve as interim CIO during the search for a permanent replacement.
Bob Burlinson was named vice president and treasurer of Handy & Harman, New York, and will be in charge of the company's $185 million defined benefit plan. He replaces Stephen B. Mudd, who retired.
Mr. Burlinson was senior vice president and CFO of National Guardian Corp.
Handy & Harman is in the process of completing its annual asset allocation study of the fund. It should be done by May, he said
