Warren Shaw, CIO at Chancellor LGT Asset Management, and three other top managers have stepped down, said Chancellor spokeswoman Mary Quackenbush. President Penny Zuckerwise, CFO Jeff Trongone and chief legal officer Rachel Arfa also will be leaving, as the firm restructures its business management, said Ms. Quackenbush.
Although Mr. Shaw and Ms. Zuckerwise will remain during a transition period, Paul Loach, head of LGT Europe, headquartered in London, will be in charge. He flew to New York a few days ago to begin recruiting a new North American CEO.
The Flinn Foundation, Phoenix, will be interviewing two hedge fund managers next month, and will be considering Oaktree Capital Management as a distressed securities manager for a new $5 million portfolio.
Cambridge Associates, consultant for the $153 million foundation, will bring in two hedge fund managers for the board to interview, said Don Snyder, executive director. He would not identify the firms. Funding will come from cash.
The foundation now has $1.4 million in a TCW distressed securities fund, which is being liquidated. Officials are considering Oaktree because the same managers who handled the TCW fund are now at Oaktree.
Aetna is seeking SEC permission to restructure the line-up of outside mutual funds in all of its institutional offerings, including defined contribution, deferred compensation and variable life and annuity programs.
If approved, Aetna would reduce its use of externally managed funds to 31, offered by eight fund families, from more than 40 funds offered by 12 families, a spokeswoman said. She wouldn't identify the firms affected.
The changes won't affect retail products, the spokeswoman said.
American Re Insurance Co., Princeton, N.J., is planning to add more investment options to its $72 million 401(k) plan, said Mary Ann Nyman, associate vice president of employee benefits. Seven options from Merrill Lynch are offered. Fund officials will consider additional Merrill funds as well as outside funds made available through Merrill.
Any changes would be effective Jan. 1.
Representatives from the $2.1 billion Deseret Mutual Benefit Administration, Salt Lake City; the $10 billion Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Md.; and the $9.5 billion endowment for Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., confirmed they have invested in Cornerstone Suburban Office, a $330 million closed-end limited partnership.
The fund was seeded with properties from the general account property portfolio of Massachusetts Mutual Life. MassMutual retains a 48% stake in the fund.
Chadwick, Saylor structured the deal. Cornerstone is a wholly owned subsidiary of MassMutual.
SEARCHES & HIRINGS
Ohio Public Employees' Retirement System, Columbus, chose Strategic Investment Solutions as its new adviser to the $40 billion fund's board. SIS replaces Wilshire Associates, whose contract expired, said Richard Schumacher, Ohio PERS' executive director.
Strategic Investment will do an asset allocation study, an asset/liability study and review and update the fund's investment policy, said Mr. Schumacher.
West Virginia University Foundation Inc., Morgantown, W.V., hired two managers in a move to a multimanager approach for the fixed-income portion of its $200 million endowment fund, said R. Craig Walker, vice president-finance and administration and treasurer.
The two are Reams Asset Management and GMG/Seneca Capital Management. They will join Oppenheimer Capital, which had been the sole fixed-income manager. Each will be assigned one-third of the $55 million allocation Oppenheimer had been managing alone.
Mr. Walker said each is a core manager, although they take different tacks in the use of Treasuries, corporate, high-yield and other bonds.
Morgan Keegan assisted.
Communications Workers of America/International Typographical Union Negotiated Pension Plan, Colorado Springs, Colo., committed $3 million to the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust, confirmed John Foss, administrator of the $950 million plan. It is the plan's first investment in the trust.
Funding will come from a rebalancing to bring the plan's equity allocation back in line, said Mr. Foss. No managers will be terminated, he said.
The AFL-CIO's $150 million pension fund, Washington, committed an undisclosed amount to the Multi-Employer Property Trust, a commingled real estate fund sponsored by Union Labor Life that invests in properties built with union labor.
Steve Rohrbaugh, the pension fund's administrator, confirmed the investment, but wouldn't disclose the amount
