Foundation taps 5 firms
The $1.6 billion foundation of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center committed assets to three alternative managers and hired two domestic equity managers.
Brentwood Associates will run $5 million in a U.S. venture capital fund; Doughty Hanson, $7 million in a European-based leverage buy-out fund; and Exxel Capital Partners, $10 million in a South American buy-out fund.
The foundation also hired Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Investment Management to evenly split $140 million in U.S. large-cap value equities. Mike Gutnick, senior vice president-finance, would not name the single manager both firms are replacing.
Cambridge Associates assisted.
UAM adding manager
United Asset Management is expected this week to announce a new affiliate in Europe. The investment team heading the start-up firm is expected to come from a large European money manager. UAM made a similar move in July, opening Expertise Asset Management in Paris with investment staff from Fimagest.
Walden closes fund
Walden International Group closed its Pacven Walden Ventures IV fund with $328 million raised from pension funds, endowments and foundations.
Investors include the pension funds of IBM Corp., AT&T Corp. and Bell Atlantic; the endowments of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvard University, University of Michigan and Northwestern University; and the Ford Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Kauffman Foundation.
The fund will invest in Asian companies and U.S. enterprises with potential business links to Asia.
Louisiana Teachers' hires
The $9 billion Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana hired Bankers Trust as its domestic and global custodian. Bankers replaces City National Bank as domestic custodian and Chase Manhattan as global custodian. A spokesman said the fund wanted to consolidate its custodial activities with a single firm.
Sullivan leaves N.Y. post
Alan Sullivan has left his position as assistant deputy comptroller with the $96 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, to join Reckson Associates Realty Corp., a developer and REIT.
Mr. Sullivan was responsible for all private placements for New York Common, said a spokesman. A replacement is being sought.
Asia news not all bad
Money managers investing in Asia have not been performing well, although they have outperformed at least one index this year, according to a report by WM Co. and RCP & Partners.
A composite universe developed by the firms shows 21 money managers posted an average -14.4% return for the year through Sept. 30. That compares with -17.6% for the same period of the MSCI Asia index, excluding Japan.
Most traditional managers "misread the fundamental weaknesses threatening the region since 1994," the report said. By the time the markets of Hong Kong and China began to be rocked in August/September, many firms had high concentrations in those markets. And, "few conventional managers were extensively hedged during the crisis," the report said.
Turner goes international
The $250 million pension fund of Turner Corp. hired Scudder, Stevens & Clark as its first international equity manager.
Scudder will manage $15 million in international core equity. Funding likely will come from U.S. equities, said Don Sleeman, senior vice president and CFO. Ennis Knupp assisted.
Turner also will add the Fidelity Low Price Equity Fund and the Spartan Fund to its $103 million defined contribution plan, bringing the number of options to 10.
Curtiss Wright chooses MFS
The $230 million pension fund of Curtiss Wright hired MFS Institutional as a large-cap value equity manager.
MFS replaces another manager in handling the $23 million portfolio. Treasurer Gary Benschip would not disclose the name of the terminated manager. Evaluation Associates assisted.
Girl Scouts hire 2
The $70 million pension fund of Girl Scouts of the USA hired two managers as it moved into two new asset classes, said Denise Jones, director-financial operations.
It hired Templeton for emerging markets, assigning it 5% of its assets, and Lazard Freres for domestic small-cap equities, assigning it 10%.
Funding will come from reducing its allocation to core domestic value equities to 35% from 50%.
IBEW Local 701 taps CIGNA
The $40 million defined contribution plan of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 701 hired CIGNA as bundled provider.
The local also hired Putnam Institutional to run $15 million in domestic core equities for its $150 million defined benefit plan. Marco Consulting Group assisted.
On the DC side, the plan had been handled in-house previously and was employer-directed. Officials used low-risk investments, managed by outside managers. Fred Mersman, fund administrator, declined to name the specific managers used. Participants will get seven options; specifics have not been decided. Ennis Knupp assisted.
Flinn picks Oaktree fund
The $160 million Flinn Foundation committed $2 million to Oaktree Capital Management's distressed securities limited partnership.
Funding will come from cash. Cambridge Associates assisted.
East Bay taps Putnam
The $420 million East Bay Municipal Utility District Employees' Retirement System hired Putnam to run $25 million in a core EAFE portfolio, said Lloyd J. Sawchuk, treasury manager.
Putnam will take over the assignment from Wellington, which was dropped. Mercer assisted.
Black Hills selects Merrill
Black Hills Corp. hired Merrill Lynch as semi-bundled service provider for its $17 million defined contribution plan, said Garner Anderson, risk manager.
Merrill replaces a record keeper Mr. Anderson wouldn't name, and American Funds as fund manager. Administration had been done internally.
The plan will have a total of 15 options effective on Jan. 1. Merrill will offer five funds; Oppenheimer, State Street Research, Morgan Stanley, Federated, Managers Funds and PIMCO will offer the remaining 10 funds.
The search was completed in-house.
Arlington County hires
The $900 million Arlington County Supplemental Retirement System picked a Bank of New York-First Union Corp. partnership as its new custodian, said Bruce O. Kallos, administrator.
Signet Bank, the incumbent custodian, was acquired by First Union.
PLAN shifts manager
PLAN International hired MFS as a fund manager and PaineWebber as record keeper for its $3 million offshore defined contribution plan.
The firms were chosen to replace bundled provider AIG, following an asset performance analysis and a fiduciary compliance review.
MFS will provide six investment options that, for the first time, will include U.S. stock funds. Previously, the plan offered a money market option, non-U.S. government bond option, international equity, Southeast Asia equity, and a balanced option. Argus Consulting assisted.
401(k) Forum expands
401(k) Forum acquired the investment fund performance monitoring and tracking software products of Decision Analytics, which is exiting that business. Terms were not disclosed.
401(k) Forum provides investment advice to plan participants via the Internet. Stephen L. Deschenes, president, said the addition of the monitoring software will enable the firm to provide detailed fund information, including measuring performance, style drift, variability and volatility of returns, and comparisons of investment funds with standard and adjusted indexes.
Johnson joins IFS
Jack E. Johnson joined the Washington office of Independent Fiduciary Services as senior vice president. He previously was finance director and chief investment officer of the International Union of Operating Engineers Central Pension Fund. He replaces Terry Moloznik. who moved to the National Electrical Benefit Fund.
At his new job, he will perform traditional consulting duties for the firm's Taft-Hartley pension fund clients.
At the union fund, Mr. Johnson has been replaced as CIO by John Szczur.
Futures returns strong
Futures managers reported strong performance in November, returning 1.67%, according to preliminary data at Managed Account Reports.
Futures returns were bolstered by positions in currency markets as well as financial futures. Lois Peltz, managing editor of MAR, said in a statement some advisers benefited from long positions in Canadian and Australian dollars and short positions in yen. Nonetheless, volatility in the energy markets led to losses, she said.
Hare joins Advantus
Rodney B. Hare has been appointed director of institutional and marketing client services at Advantus Capital Management, a new position. He will focus exclusively on foundations, endowments and corporate retirement plans.
Mr. Hare had been a senior vice president of marketing and client service at NCM Capital. Officials at NCM did not return phone calls.
Fidelity adds lobbyist
Doug Fisher joined Fidelity as vice president of federal government affairs, a new position. Mr. Fisher will lobby on behalf of Fidelity before Congress, he said.
He was previously majority counsel to the Senate Finance Committee, where he has not yet been replaced.
