Doris Duke Foundation, New York, is considering broadening its asset allocation with alternative investments in 1998.
Alan Altschuler, CFO of the $1.3 billion fund, said he is investigating private equity and hedge funds. No searches have been scheduled and no decisions on making an allocation to the asset class are expected until next summer, he added.
Cambridge Associates is assisting.
The 5-3-3-2 rules for Japanese Employees' Pension Fund investments will be scrapped sometime in January, reported the Japan Bond Research Institute.
The JBRI said the move is being taken as early as possible and during Japan's 1997 fiscal year, which will end March 31, in order to revitalize the Japanese stock market. After the rules are abolished, EPFs will still have to abide by the current restriction that no more than half their assets can be managed by investment advisers - as opposed to trust banks and insurance companies - in Japan.
The existing 5-3-3-2 rule states that a minimum of 50% of an EPF's assets must be in ``safe'' principal guaranteed assets. But funds can invest only up to 30% in Japanese stocks, 30% in foreign securities, and a maximum of 20% in real estate.
Great Manchester Pension Fund, Ashton-Under-Lyne, England, delayed by two months final decisions in its manager review, one of the biggest manager sweepstakes in England.
At stake are two £2 billion-plus (U.S.$3.3 billion) global balanced portfolios currently managed by PDFM and Prudential Portfolio Managers. A report will be submitted at a Feb. 20 trustees meeting, said Steven Taylor, principal investments officer for the nearly £5 billion (U.S.$8.2 billion) fund. A decision should be made at that time. One of the issues at stake is whether to hire two or three balanced managers, he said.
Hedge fund managers in the Hennessee Hedge Fund Index posted mixed results in November, with managers focusing on international, technology, biotechnology, and growth stocks posting measurable losses, with short sellers and arbitrageurs reporting gains.
The median manager in the index reported a return of -0.12% in November. Managers focusing on emerging markets, the Pacific Rim and Latin America performed the worst, reporting average returns of -4.26%, -4.08%, and -3.75%, respectively. The best-performing classes were short sellers, multiple arbitrageurs and risk arbitrageurs, which reported average returns of 3.56%, 2.79% and 2.08%.
The average number of investment choices in 401(k) plans jumped to 8.2 in 1997 from 7.7 in 1996, a survey by William M. Mercer found.
That's more than double the number of choices available in 1990. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of employers charge investment management fees to participants while record-keeping fees are generally paid by the employer (68%). Among plans that offer equity funds, 46% of participants' assets were invested in equities in 1997, up from 40% a year earlier.
