The first-ever global standards for measuring and presenting investment performance are expected to be published within two months by AIMR.
If widely accepted, the voluntary standards will enable money managers to meet a single standard in measuring performance and will make it easier to penetrate foreign markets. Marking the biggest change from existing U.S. and U.K. guidelines, the global standard will include a simplified version of AIMR's independent verification test.
The standards, which will be effective Jan. 1, 2000, address the construction of composites and calculation of performance. Eventually, the standards will require a five-year track record for existing firms, monthly portfolio valuations, time-weighted rates of return adjusted for cash flows, trade-date accounting, use of appropriate benchmarks for composites, and full disclosure of results.
Truck Drivers & Warehouse Workers Union, Chicago, terminated Killian Asset Management as a balanced manager for its pension fund.
The firm "didn't perform well for the last year,'' said Thomas Hurt, fiscal administrator for the $170 million fund. Officials at Killian would not comment on the termination.
The firm's $22 million portfolio was divided among U.S. equity manager Bank of America, balanced manager Duff & Phelps, and U.S. bond manager Mid-City National Bank. Fund officials do not plan to conduct a manager search. Segal assisted.
U.S. pension assets reached $7.296 trillion by Sept. 30, up 23% from a year earlier, according to the latest Flow of Funds report from the Federal Reserve. Private pension funds, were valued at $3.547 trillion; public pension funds, $2.067 trillion; pension fund reserve assets at life insurance companies totaled $1.24 trillion; and federal government insurance and pension reserves stood at $441.2 billion.
