China resumed rule of Hong Kong at noon Eastern time, China-linked stocks rallied in Singapore. Overall, its Straits Times industrials index was up 13.58 points to 1987.95. The Taiwan market was up a slight 5.8 points to 9030.28. The Nikkei 225 in Japan was up 81.21 points to 20604.96. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 21.94 points to 7665.78 around 1 p.m. The Hong Kong stock market, closed for three days for the celebration, will reopen Thursday. The Chinese stock markets were to be closed Monday and Tuesday.
Charles E. Culpeper Foundation, Stamford, Conn., is planning to make its first REIT investments ``rather soon,'' and boost venture capital later in the year, said Boris Wessley, comptroller. The $190 million fund will invest cash flow from its current real estate funds into a REIT or a REIT fund of funds. The venture capital allocation is expected to go to 5% of total assets from 3%. The board is looking specifically at European venture capital. Cambridge Associates is assisting.
Auburn University, Auburn, Ala., will increase its equity allocation to 60% of its $180 million endowment fund, said Charles Bruce, director-treasury services. It will boost the allocation from 55%, increasing the assignments of INVESCO and Scudder, its current equity managers.
Funding will come from cash flow. Officials will decide which manager will receive the additional allocation as new money is invested every quarter. Both now split the equity allocation. Smith Barney assisted in the change.
Laclede Gas Co., St. Louis, is considering whether to retain Bankers Trust as trustee for its $250 million defined benefit plan and $80 million defined contribution plan. The board's current trustee is NationsBank, whose custody business is being bought by Bankers. The board will decide in the next month or two, said James Fallert, manager of financial services.
The Vanguard Group of Investment Cos. established an in-house consulting group. The group, Vanguard Fiduciary Services, will provide smaller defined benefit, endowment and foundation clients with direct access to consulting and portfolio review services, such as performance measurement, analysis and attribution, said Shelton Unger, head of institutional sales and marketing.
Vanguard also is beta testing with a few clients now an asset allocation service for organizations that want to invest all of their assets with Vanguard.
Banque Nationale de Paris has formed a new money management subsidiary, BNP Gestion, with 254 billion French francs ($43.4 billion) in assets under management. The new unit will be headed by Gilles de Vaugrigneuse, previously head of the bank's money management operation. Jacques Cachuex, formerly in charge of institutional marketing, will be CIO for the unit's 43 portfolio managers. Gilles Gilcenstein will be in charge of domestic and international marketing and business development.
BNP also has rolled out three new SICAVs (akin to mutual funds) to invest in euro-based instruments for fixed-income and for large- and small-cap stocks.
Buck Consultants acquired Hannan Superannuation Australia, the pension administration and consulting business of the Hannan Group, Australia's largest privately owned insurance brokerage company. The acquisition is part of a strategic alliance between the two firms designed to provide a higher level of pension and consulting services to Hannan's clients.
HIRINGS
BC Telecom Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, hired Bimcor, said Garnet Andrews, cash and investments manager for the C$960 million (U.S.$700 million) pension fund. Bimcor will be assigned C$100 million for a Canadian bond index fund. Funding will come from cash flow and a reallocation from bond managers. No manager will be dropped. Brockhouse and Cooper assisted.
Norman (Okla.) City Retirement System hired Fidelity Investments Public Sector Services as bundled service provider for its $18 million 401(a) defined contribution plan. The plan now will offer participants 10 Fidelity investment funds, including four lifecycle funds. The fund previously was managed and administered by Diversified Investment Advisors, with investment decisions made by the board of trustees, a fund spokesman said.
Clara Abbott Foundation, Abbott Park, Ill., hired Oak Associates to run a U.S. equity portfolio, after conducting an in-house search. Barry Wojtak, executive director of the $250 million foundation, would not reveal the size of the portfolio. The funding will come from existing managers; none was terminated.
Sierra Health Foundation, Sacramento, Calif., hired Boston Partners to run $5 million in U.S. midcap equities. The allocation was funded through rebalancing of existing portfolios, said Len McCandliss, president of the $140 million foundation. No managers were let go. Arnerich & Massena assisted.
P&I Dail
