SEARCHES & HIRINGS
Santa Clara (Calif.) County Transit District hired William M. Mercer Investment Consulting to do an asset allocation study and select the first external managers for its $110 million pension fund.
The study should take a couple of months and yield significant changes, said Jerry Rosenquist, deputy director. The fund's current mix: 98% fixed income and 2% indexed equities, all domestic.
Carpenters Pension Fund of Illinois, Geneva, plans to hire a fixed-income index manager as a result of a review of its $200 million fixed-income portfolio. Marco Consulting has selected four candidates and will present them to the board in mid-October. The board also will discuss restructuring of the portfolio at that meeting.
Trustees of the $760 million fund also are considering foreign bonds and high-yield bonds as a way of expanding the investment vehicles used by existing bond managers Lazard Freres and Investment Advisors, said David Bodley, administrator.
Maxus Energy Corp., Dallas, hired Northern Trust as a master custodian and a fixed-income manager for its $120 million defined benefit plan.
Northern replaces NationsBank, which is exiting the custodial business.
The firm will manage $25 million in bonds. The funding comes from other fixed-income portfolios, said Dan Imthurn, assistant treasurer. He declined to provide any additional information. Principal Financial assisted.
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 4, Boston, selected Putnam as record keeper for its combined 401(k) and self-directed annuity plans with $40 million in assets. Putnam replaces KPMG and will provide quarterly valuation and already provides the local's nine investment selections. A union spokesman said the change in record keepers primarily was a cost measure.
