SEARCHES & HIRINGS
Fitchburg (Mass.) Retirement System is searching for its first international equities manager, said Kevin Leonard, the Segal Advisors consultant who is assisting in the search. The $52 million system is searching for an active, commingled manager to run a $2.5 million portfolio. The system now has all of its assets in a balanced portfolio with Safety Fund National Bank.
Funding will come from the 60% of the system's assets now in bonds. RFPs will go out this week with a deadline of April 1. Finalists will be picked at the fund's May board meeting.
City of Orlando, Fla., along with the Orlando General Employees Retirement System, is interviewing seven midgrade corporate bond managers for $24 million to $40 million of operating and pension assets. Neuberger & Berman; Strong Capital; Seix Invesment; Deltec; Pacholder; Dewey Square; and Oaktree will make presentations this week.
A decision may not immediately follow, said Bruce Harter, city treasurer. The city may split between two firms 7% of both the $350 million city operating fund portfolio and the $190 million pension fund portfolio.
Kalson & Associates is assisting.
Whitman Corp., Rolling Meadows, Ill., hired Barclays as the sole manager for its $100 million pension fund, said Andrew Stark, senior financial analyst for Whitman.
Barclays also was hired as sole manager for the pension funds of Hussmann International and Midas Inc., which recently were spun off from Whitman. Hussmann's plan has $125 million in assets; Midas' plan has $50 million.
Barclays will run portfolios for all three companies tracking the S&P 500, Wilshire 4500, EAFE and Lehman Aggregate indexes. Each fund will invest roughly 70% in stocks and 30% in bonds. The search was done internally.
Before the spinoffs, the Whitman plan used several active managers, Mr. Stark said. He would not name the terminated managers.
Anne Arundel Retirement Systems, Annapolis, Md., hired three managers for its $700 million pension fund, said Thomas W. Mullenix, director-employee benefits.
Farrell-Wako Global and Lazard Asset Management were assigned $25 million each for U.S. small-cap equities; and Capital Guardian, $51 million for non-U.S. equities. The systems also added $16 million each to the portfolios of ABKB LaSalle, a REIT manager, and Cigna Real Estate. ABKB LaSalle now will manage $34 million; Cigna will run $36 million.
Funding came from two firms dropped in a reallocation: BEA, which managed $20 million in non-U.S. equities; and MacKay-Shields, which ran $115 million in U.S. large-cap growth stocks. Mercer assisted.
Conseco Marketing hired two managers to offer additional options in its new Conseco Variable Annuity program. Mitchell Hutchins will manage a growth and income fund and Lazard Freres will manage a core equity fund and a small-cap fund.
WHO'S NEWS
Kenneth C. Rogers, former managing director at RogersCasey Asset Services, has become a principal at Arrow Partners, a third-party sales and marketing firm.
Mr. Rogers' father Stephen Rogers, founded RogersCasey in 1976. A search is under way to replace the younger Mr. Rogers
