HIRINGS
Alcan Adminco Inc., Montreal, hired Sun Life Investment Management to provide an S&P 500 index fund for its C$160 million (U.S. $116 million) employee savings plan, said Hugh Pollock, vice president and manager-pension administration group for the Alcan Aluminum Ltd. unit.
The fund is the seventh investment option for the plan and its first non-Canadian portfolio.
Wichita (Kan.) Retirement Funds hired Northern Trust to replace Boatmen's Trust as master trustee/custodian for the $320 million Wichita Employees' Retirement Fund and the $275 million Wichita Police & Firemen's Retirement System. Wichita began seeking a new custodian after Boatmen's was acquired by NationsBank, which sold off its custody operations, said Alan Person, pension manager.
St. Louis County retirement plans, Clayton, Mo., hired Wellington to manage $35 million in fixed-income assets, replacing Boatmen's, said Ralph Bowser, retirement plans administrator for the county, which has $220 million in assets.
In addition, St. Louis County trustees have put on hold a search for a new custodian, pending the transfer of incumbent Boatmen's custodial assets to Bankers Trust, Mr. Bowser said. Bankers Trust was a custodial finalist following RFIs anyway, he said. A decision will be made in the fall.
Nebraska Public Power District, Columbus, hired American Express to provide bundled services for its defined contribution plan.
The company will meet with the firm later this week to discuss specific options for the $270 million plan. TPK Asset Management, First Bank Duluth, Smith Barney, IDS Advisory Group, Murray Johnstone and Morley Capital Management were investment managers for the plan previously. The switch will allow employees to choose how to invest their money instead of the employer-directed "one size fits all" approach, said Bill Podraza, vice president for human resources and external affairs. Asset Consulting Group assisted.
Haverford College, Haverford, Pa., has added two alternative investments for its $191 million endowment fund. Fund officials committed $7 million to Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo for an emerging countries debt mandate and $5 million to the WCAS Capital Partners III private equity fund.
The college is building its alternative investment allocation to 15% of assets from the current 10%, said G. Richard Wynn, vice president of finance and administration, treasurer.
The funding for GMO came from a reallocation; the funding for WCAS came from cash flow. Cambridge Associates assisted
