SEARCHES & HIRINGS
University of Wisconsin System, Madison, seeks money managers in six areas for its $250 million endowment fund, said David M. Konshak, assistant trust officer. For stocks, it is searching for U.S. core and small-cap managers. It also it seeks to fill an active EAFE mandate. In bonds, it seeks U.S. long-term and intermediate-term and non-U.S managers.
The system could hire more than one firm in each area. It will keep the searches open until May 23 and hopes to make decisions by November. The fund's asset allocation is 57% U.S. equities, 10% non-U.S. stocks and 33% bonds, including up to 10% non-U.S. bonds.
The incumbents, whose contracts expired, are ANB for active U.S. equities, Babson-Stewart Ivory for EAFE stocks, Firstar for core equities, Lieber for small-cap equities, M&I Investment for intermediate-term bonds and Standish Ayer & Wood for long-term bonds and international bonds. The incumbents, if they choose, will be considered in the searches. No consultant is being used.
New York Common Retirement System, Albany, selected Oppenheimer Capital to manage a midcap value equity portfolio, said state Comptroller H. Carl McCall.
Oppenheimer is expected to get $200 million, if negotiations are completed. The fund also put an additional $100 million in Capital Guardian's core EAFE strategy. The firm already runs $640 million for the $78 billion system. Assets for both will come from cash.
Pennsylvania State Employes' Retirement System, Harrisburg, is putting up to $136 million with three alternative investment firms. The $18 billion fund allocated up to $75 million to Blackstone Capital Partners III for large, private transactions; up to $36 million to the Schroder Ventures European Fund for European partnerships and early stage investments; and up to $25 million to Media/Communications Partners Fund III for media and telecommunications investments. Cambridge Associates assisted.
Tracor Inc., Austin, Texas, hired GMG/Seneca and RCM Capital to handle $15 million each in small-cap equities, and committed another $15 million to Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst's buy-out fund. Assets come from Target Investors and Monetta Financial, terminated because of poor performance, and a reallocation, an official of the $370 million fund said. Holbein Associates assisted.
Bob Zuccaro, president of Target, said the firm has underperformed for the past couple of years. Officials at Monetta were not available.
Aegon Nederlands NV, The Hague, outsourced global bond and emerging market equities portfolios to PanAgora Asset Management, said Edgar Koning, senior vice president and head of fixed income and equities. Mr. Koning wouldn't give the size of the portfolios. Aegon's insurance assets total 65 billion guilders ($33.3 billion).
Duke University, Durham, N.C., is adding Frank Russell to the list of six mutual fund vendors offering funds to participants in its 403(b) plan. The five new LifePath manager-of-managers lifestyle funds will be added as soon as they become available, said Coleman Trask, executive vice president. Participants now will have a choice of more than 100 funds.
Frank Russell will launch the funds in mid-May, creating an off-the-shelf version of the risk-weighted asset allocation strategies it has been providing to financial advisers
