ARLINGTON, Va. - The $800 million Arlington County Retirement System hired Mellon Capital Management to manage $160 million in a core tactical asset allocation portfolio.
The portfolio will be funded by cutting allocations to existing stock and bond managers; names of managers weren't released because they have not been notified. Bruce Kallos, administrator, and consultant Ashford Capital are negotiating a contract that includes a cap of 40 basis points on fees.
According to Mellon's presentation materials, the firm typically charges 50 basis points.
C.R. Bard
MURRAY HILL, N.J. - C.R. Bard Inc. hired Vanguard to provide full bundled services to its $100 million 401(k) plan. Vanguard will provide all investment management, daily valued record keeping, trust, administration and employee communications and education services. Officials at C.R. Bard would not disclose the number of options the company will offer because employees have not yet been notified of plan changes. The new program will go live Jan. 1.
C.R. Bard now uses quarterly valued record-keeping services from Kwasha Lipton and offers four investment options, all managed by different money managers.
Beloit Clinic
BELOIT, Wis. - The Beloit Clinic hired Vanguard to provide bundled services for its $50 million 401(k) plan. Eight options, all managed by Vanguard, were selected for the plan, together with daily valued record keeping, trust and administrative services. Vanguard also provides employee investment education and communication services, said James Ruethling, administrator. The plan was implemented July 1.
The clinic previously used quarterly record-keeping services from the Chering Co. and had six options by multiple managers.
California Public Employees'
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The California Public Employees' Retirement System committed $150 million to Behrman Capital II L.P., tripling an investment made in the general partner's first fund.
The $110 billion pension fund wants to put $1 billion to $1.5 billion a year in partnerships and $500 million to $1 billion in new direct investments, said Brad Pacheco, a spokesman.
The commitment allows Behrman to reach its first closing with $300 million total, confirmed a spokesman for the general partner. Behrman Capital II will target buy-outs of emerging growth companies in information technology, health-care and contract manufacturing industries.
District of Columbia
WASHINGTON - The District of Columbia Retirement Board hired Urdang & Associates to manage a $60 million property portfolio formerly run by LaSalle Advisors, according to Jeanna Cullins, executive director. Finalists in the search were Equinox Realty Advisors and American Realty Advisors. Courtland Partners, the $3.7 billion board's real estate consultant, conducted the search.
E.I. du Pont de Nemours
WILMINGTON. Del. - E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. added four investment options to its $13 billion 401(k) plan, expanding the number of choices to 21 from a variety of providers. Funds added are the Fidelity Fund, Fidelity Equity-Income Fund, Fidelity Growth & Income Fund and Fidelity Low Price Stock Fund.
Equitable Life Distributors
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - Equitable Life Distributors, Newport Beach, Calif., hired Putnam Investments and MFS for its new multimanager variable annuity fund.
Putnam will begin managing between $2.5 and $5 million in seed money in large-cap value, core growth equity and international equity portfolios. Equitable also will seed the MFS Research Fund and MFS Emerging Growth Companies Fund with similar amounts, said Jamie Shepherdson, managing director of Equitable Distributors Inc.
The company probably will be adding more managers in the fourth quarter.
Firstar Investment
MILWAUKEE - Firstar Investment Research and Management hired Hansberger Global Investors to subadvise its $55 million Portico International Equity Fund, said Mary Ellen Stanek, president. Hansberger replaces State Street Global Advisors, Ms. Stanek said. The change is pending shareholder approval, with a vote set for early August.
Grove Hill Medical Center
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - Grove Hill Medical Center selected Putnam as bundled service provider for its $40 million money purchase 401(k) plan. Trustees expect to provide six to eight investment options; only the Templeton Foreign Fund will not be offered from Putnam. The fund has been employer-directed, using five external managers that a fund spokesman declined to name. PRIME Asset Consulting Group assisted.
Ingram Entertainment Inc.
LAVERGNE, Tenn. - Ingram Entertainment Inc. hired Barclays Global Investors' MasterWorks Group as a semibundled provider for its defined contribution plan and The Vanguard Group, Janus, and Pilgrim Baxter & Associates as mutual fund managers for its new cash balance plan, both formed as a result of a recent spinoff from Ingram Industries.
Barclays is providing four equity options, with a fifth stable value option being offered by Sanford C. Bernstein for the new $5 million defined contribution plan, said Ed Triplett, vice president and treasurer. Two or three funds might be added later this year from Merrill Lynch, which is in the process of forming an alliance with MasterWorks, he added.
For the $35 million cash balance plan, Vanguard will run an S&P 500 index fund and a growth equity fund; Janus, an international equity fund; and Pilgrim Baxter, a small-cap equity fund.
The searches were completed in-house.
Mississippi Deferred
JACKSON, Miss. - The $350 million Mississippi Deferred Compensation Plan added three investment options.
Barclays Global Investors was hired to provide an S&P 500 index fund and money market fund, and the Boston Co.'s Premier Value Equity Fund also was added. The plan now has 12 investment choices.
A search for a lifestyle fund has been suspended for at least a year until major providers have at least a five-year track record, according to a fund spokeswoman.
Mutual of Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. - Mutual of Omaha introduced a single-premium variable universal life insurance program - Ultra Variable Life - that incorporates 24 investment options.
T. Rowe Price is the subadviser for five accounts; Fred Alger is subadviser for two options; MFS manages five options; Scudder Stevens & Clark advises three options; four Fidelity funds are offered; Pioneer manages two funds; and two Federated options are available. Mutual of Omaha manages the fixed account.
National Service Industries
ATLANTA - National Service Industries invested $50 million of its $130 million defined benefit plan in the Vanguard Institutional Index fund. The change was part of a decision to move to passive management for the large-cap stock allocation, said Russell Watson, assistant treasurer. Mr. Watson declined to name the active manager terminated to fund the hire. Towers Perrin assisted.
New England Funds
BOSTON - New England Funds will recommend that Harris Associates be named subadviser of $213 million of the $945 million New England Star Advisers Fund. Robert Sanborn, manager of Harris' Oakmark Fund, will be one of the fund's four portfolio co-managers, if trustees approve the change at a July 25 board meeting. Harris Associates will replace Berger Associates in managing the allocation to bottom-up, value stocks.
New York Common
ALBANY, N.Y. - The $80 billion New York Common Retirement Fund committed $200 million to the Blackstone Capital Partners III Merchant Banking Fund, confirmed state Comptroller H. Carl McCall, the sole trustee of the retirement system. The commitment will be funded from cash.
Northern States Power
MINNEAPOLIS - Northern States Power Co. hired Cadence Capital Management and Well
ington Management for midcap growth domestic equity portfolios.
Each will be assigned $35 million from Northern's $1.8 billion pension fund, said Rick Rohkohl, manager-dedicated funds.
Funding came from dropping Investment Advisers Inc., also a midcap manager.
Callan Associates assisted in the searches.
Northwestern Memorial
CHICAGO - Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, hired GMG/Seneca Capital Management to manage a $15 million midcap growth equity portfolio. The hospital has $960 million in trust funds, said Thomas M. Satkus Jr., assistant treasurer.
Funding came from a reallocation. Watson Wyatt and Northern Trust assisted.
OHM Corp.
NORCROSS, Ga. - OHM Corp. added the Ivy Mackenzie International Fund and the MFS Value Fund to its 401(k) plan. Trustees also selected the AIM Balanced Fund to replace the Fidelity Balanced Fund.
The switch was due to poor performance of the Fidelity fund for the last couple of years, according to Todd McCollough, employee benefits manager for the $40 million plan. Fidelity officials declined to comment.
The number of options in the plan will increase to seven.
Mercer assisted.
Oklahoma City Employees
OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma City Employees Retirement System selected BankOne as its custodian, said Rena Hutton, retirement system administrator for the $226 million fund. BankOne replaces Boatmen's. The other finalist was Bank of Oklahoma. The search was done following the sale of Boatmen's to NationsBank.
Orange County Employees
SANTA ANA, Calif. - The Orange County Employees' Retirement System selected Bankers Trust to provide master custody and securities lending services, pending contract negotiations.
Boatmen's Trust had been the $3.4 billion fund's custodian. But Boatmen's was acquired by NationsBank in January, and in April, Bankers Trust announced it was acquiring the institutional trust business of NationsBank.
Redland Aggregates
HUNT VALLEY, Md. - Redland Aggregates North America hired Vanguard to provide quasi-bundled services for its new $50 million 401(k) plan. The company's British parent decided to combine the various retirement plans of its four North American subsidiaries into a single plan, said Pam Zerba, North American benefits specialist.
The combined plan goes live Aug. 1. Vanguard will run five of eight investment options. Two Templeton international funds also are offered, as well as the PBGH Aggressive Growth Fund. Vanguard will provide daily valued record keeping, trust and administration and employee education and communication.
San Antonio Fire & Police
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The $880 million San Antonio Fire & Police Pension Fund hired Rothschild to manage a $30 million domestic small-cap value equity portfolio. Assets will come from a manager being terminated; Wier Labatt, executive director of the fund, declined to name the firm. Other finalists were Loomis Sayles, Westport Asset and Rosenberg Institutional. Towers Perrin assisted.
Security Benefit Life
TOPEKA, Kan. - Security Benefit Life Insurance introduced a flexible variable annuity, Variflex Signature, which offers 14 diversified investment options.
Security Benefit and its subsidiaries manage 10 options. T. Rowe Price manages two options - an equity income and a managed asset allocation account. Meridian will provide investment research for a specialized asset allocation account, managed by Security Management. Lexington runs a global equity option and a global aggressive bond option.
Sisters of Charity
HOUSTON - The Sisters of Charity Healthcare System hired Boston Partners to manage $80 million in large-cap value equity for its operating fund. Michael Kelly, director/investments, would not identify the firm Boston Partners replaces or the size of the fund. Howard Perlow of Asset Strategy Consulting assisted.
Specialty Equipment
AURORA, Ill. - Specialty Equipment Cos. Inc. revised its $21 million 401(k) plan, choosing four new managers in the process, said Douglas Johnson, director of financial services. Added were: the First American Equity Index Fund, which tracks the S&P 500; the Putnam New Opportunities Fund, a small stock fund; the Fidelity Advisor Overseas Fund, an international stock fund; and a stable value fund managed by PRIMCO Capital. The new funds replace options that were group annuities sponsored by The Equitable and managed by Alliance Capital, he said. The choices were: stable value, large cap, aggressive stocks and balanced.
Brinson Partners, which manages the fund's $30 million defined benefit plan, remains as the manager of the fifth option, a global multiasset fund, he said.
EFR Advisors assisted.
Teamsters Local 584
NEW YORK - The Teamsters Local 584 Pension Fund hired Putnam Institutional Management to run $15 million in midcap equities, a new style for the $120 million fund. The new account was funded by reducing the size of the portfolios run by existing U.S. equity managers 1838 Investment Advisors and Smith Barney Capital Management, said John Driscoll, co-counsel representing the union. Prudential Securities assisted.
Teamsters Local 734
CHICAGO - Teamsters Local 734 hired Fiduciary Management and Great Lakes Advisors to manage $5 million each in midcap equities. The $130 million Taft-Hartley plan will take the $10 million from Killian Asset Management, which will continue to run $110 million in a balanced portfolio. Trustees originally wanted to hire a small-cap manager but changed direction after a search produced only one manager that didn't meet expectations, said Erwin Pasch, administrator. Investment Performance Services assisted.
U-Haul International
PHOENIX, Ariz. - U-Haul International hired Vanguard as a mutual fund provider for its $61 million 401(k) plan, replacing Fidelity Investments. The Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund and the Vanguard Wellington Fund replaced the Fidelity Spartan Fund and Fidelity Balanced Fund July 1.
'Trustees wanted to move because of the lower cost, said Samuel Briggs, chair of advisory committee. He added the switch had nothing to do with Fidelity's performance.
University of North Carolina
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has placed $120 million with Wachovia Asset Management of Winston-Salem. The money had been internally managed. The assets were moved to Wachovia shortly after Wayne Morgan left his post as director of investments for the university and joined Wachovia as senior portfolio manager. Wachovia also is custodian for the school's endowment and investment funds.
University of Washington
SEATTLE - The $448 million University of Washington endowment committed $2 million to the Arch Venture Fund III, said Alison Borland, assistant treasurer. Cambridge Associates assisted. Assets probably will come from cash.
Ventura County Employees
VENTURA, Calif. - The Ventura County Employees Retirement Association, Ventura, retained Asset Strategy Consulting after including eight or nine outside firms in a search. The $1.5 billion fund will conduct an asset allocation study in the fall. Van Perris, retirement manager, expects the study to be finished in November.
West End Lumber
HOUSTON - West End Lumber Co. Inc. hired Putnam as bundled provider for its $2.5 million 401(k) plan. Five Putnam funds will be offered as investment choices. The plan previously was employer-directed and the assets had been run by Hand & Associates. Post Oak Capital assisted in the search.
