New York City Employees Retirement System should consider investments in new media, technology/biomedical, real estate, health care/managed care and financial and business services as it seeks to expand its targeted investment program, according to Pacific Corporate Group, alternative investment consultant to the $45 billion fund.
NYCERS' targeted investment program has been limited so far to financing residential construction in New York City. The report advised the trustees to ``maintain targeted investment focus as key driver of (the) program expansion,'' and ``maintain flexibility and creativity - avoid prematurely limiting options.''
Trustees hired Pacific Corporate last year to develop a plan to increase the system's investment in alternatives.
Sheet Metal Workers Local 19, Philadelphia, is considering more mutual funds for its $80 million employee-directed pension plan, said Joseph Cavanaugh, fund administrator.
The plan offers four options: Turner Large-cap Fund, Dreyfus Money Market Fund, INVESCO Growth & Income Fund and a core fund, which is a balanced portfolio made up of CoreStates and Turner fixed-income and equity funds. Fund officials will meet in early summer to discuss adding funds and whether outside managers will be considered, he said.
Segal is assisting.
The Seeing Eye Inc., Morristown, N.J., is considering changing the sole money manager for its $4.3 million pension fund.
The current manager is Mutual of America, which has managed the assets for the past six years, said Joe Funke, CFO of Seeing Eye. The board is in the process of looking at other firms, he said. No time frame for a possible search has been developed.
Richard A. Eisner and Co. is assisting.
Managed futures firms reported negative average returns for March, according to preliminary data from Managed Account Reports. Trading advisers were down an average of 0.37% in March, while futures funds were down 0.41%. The March declines came from market volatility in different futures markets and changes in long-term price trends, Lois Peltz, managing editor for MAR, said in a statement. For the quarter, managed futures advisers were up an average of 5.2%, while managed futures funds were up 5%.
U.S. tax-exempt institutions had $475 billion in international and global stocks and bonds as of Dec. 31, 25% higher than the $380 billion of foreign holdings one year earlier, according to InterSec Research.
Last year's growth was just slightly below the annualized 30% rise of international investments for the five years ended Dec. 31. InterSec's data revealed a 32% jump, or $34.1 billion, in funding for newly established portfolios. Additions to existing portfolios totaled $61.8 billion, a 12.6% rise over the previous year, while terminations totaled $27.1 billion vs. $25.1 billion the year before. Investment withdrawals fell to $17.7 billion, compared with $21.2 billion in 1995.
