SEARCHES & HIRINGS
California State Teachers' Retirement System, as expected, approved an RFP for up to 16 active U.S. equity managers.
The $80 billion fund's six current U.S. equity managers, which manage a total of about $2.5 billion, are expected to apply for re-hiring. The firms to be selected will be allocated about $4 billion, not $15 billion as reported Wednesday in P&I Daily. The RFP is scheduled to go out in the last week of January.
Sacramento-based CalSTRS also selected a new real estate consultant, Pension Consulting Alliance/E&Y Kenneth Leventhal, subject to fee negotiations. PCA will replace Institutional Property Consultants, which resigned early last year. One of the new consultant's first jobs will be to determine if the fund should have an allocation for REITs.
The deadline for the equity RFP is expected to be in April. No date is set for final selection.
CalSTRS also will start an internal $1 billion U.S. equity portfolio in April.
Bristol (Conn.) General Retirement System interviewed four REIT managers and is likely to hire a new manager at its Feb. 11 board meeting. Interviewed were: Invesco; Phoenix, Duff & Phelps; Heitman; and Cohen & Steers.
Barbara Czaplicki, assistant controller for the $239 million fund, said the size of the mandate will be decided after a new manager is chosen. Incumbent real estate managers are CIGNA and MetLife Realty.
Massachusetts Port Authority Employees' Retirement System, Boston, hired Templeton Investment Counsel for a $20 million broad non-U.S. equities portfolio. Funding came from a $10.4 million allocation to a now-closed international equities commingled fund run by Wellington and reallocations from other asset classes of the $212 million fund.
The fund determined, for performance reasons, to divest from the fund even before announcement last year that it would be closed, said Irene Moran, retirement board administrator. Calls to Wellington were not returned by press time.
White Cap Inc., Downers Grove, Ill., hired American Express as a bundled provider for its defined contribution plan. Previously, the $61 million plan had Northern Trust as trustee and Mercer as record keeper.
The amount of investment options will increase from three to seven on April 1. Vanguard had provided a fixed-income fund and a balanced fund. The plan also had annuities grouped into one option, which will be kept until the contracts expire.
