Trustees for the Indiana State Teachers' Retirement Fund, Indianapolis, will review the results of an asset-liability study at its July meeting, said Robert Newland, investment officer.
The study will include the fund's first allocation to equities, following a referendum in November that allowed equity investment for state pension funds. Trustees of the $3.6 billion fund will continue with educational sessions on equities this month, he said.
Following the study, consultant Callan Associates also will research related issues that are new to the fund, such as directed brokerage and proxy voting.
A proposed ordinance introduced in the Philadelphia City Council would require the $2.75 billion Philadelphia City Municipal Pension Fund to sell holdings in cigarette manufacturers and distributors, said Marie Hauser, chief clerk to the city council. The ordinance will be heard in committee and then go the full council for a vote.
The council ends its session June 19 and reconvenes in September, Ms. Hauser said.
City of Orlando (Fla.) General Employees' Pension Fund will issue an RFP for a master custodian in the next three weeks, said Janice Hameline, executive assistant.
The fund currently uses State Street Bank & Trust, which will be allowed to bid. The $420 million fund decided to issue the RFP after the firm's contract expired. A due date hasn't been set, but generally candidates are given 20 days to respond, she said. Performance Measurement Consulting probably will assist.
The stock market may be headed for another correction, according to stock market indicators tracked by Liquidity Trim Tabs. Without at least a $4 billion inflow into domestic equity mutual funds, the market may be in trouble, Trim Tabs reported. President Charles Biderman wrote he hasn't seen such bullish sentiment readings since the end of January, just before the market started a two-month downspin.
The most important indicator is the slump in cash takeovers, he said. The number of new deals last week was seven, with only one of more than $100 million.
``Unless companies continue to see value in the market and are willing to use cash to buy other public companies, this stock market rally is doomed,'' Mr. Biderman wrote.
Bank of New York introduced a portfolio management service for institutional and individual investors with more than $100,000.
The bank will determine asset allocation for the investor and implement and rebalance the mix using its 10 BNY Hamilton proprietary mutual funds.
Guardian Investor Services introduced two mutual funds: the Guardian Park Avenue Small Cap Fund and the Guardian Baillie Gifford Emerging Markets Fund.
The small-cap fund will be managed using a top-down approach. The fund will have a strong initial weighting in REITs, which the company believes have an attractive combination of value and momentum. Managers are Chuck Albers and Larry Luxenberg. The Baillie Gifford emerging markets fund is managed by Edward Hocknell and sponsored through a partnership of Guardian and Baillie Gifford & Co.
The Lutheran Brotherhood added a midcap stock fund to its family of mutual funds. The LB Mid Cap Growth Fund will invest in companies with capitalizations of $1 billion to $5 billion. The family offers three other mutual funds.
