Chubb Corp., Warren, N.J., is considering changes to its $500 million pension plan.
Officials will look at the performance of the fund's two balanced managers and decide whether to do an asset allocation review later in the year, said Janet Butter, manager-investment benefits services.
Columbia Management and Miller Anderson & Sherrerd currently split the plan's assets equally. Trustees have not decided whether to use an outside consultant for the review. Merrill Lynch, the performance monitor for the fund, may be used in the review.
Total pension fund assets increased to $7.45 trillion at the end of 1997, an 18% increase from the year-earlier figure, according to data released by the Federal Reserve. Private pension assets grew about 20%, to $3.6 trillion; and state and local pension funds grew 23%, to $2.1 trillion, according to the Fed's Flow of Funds report.
Hermes Pensions Management and Lens Investment Management announced a joint venture to create the U.K.'s first institutional fund manager geared toward increasing shareholder returns on companies with hidden underlying value. The firm, Hermes Lens Asset Management, will be 75% owned by Hermes and Lens will own 25%.
The new firm's first fund, Hermes UK Focus Fund, will be launched in the summer and be marketed to institutions in both England and the U.S. It will focus on midcap to large-cap companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The fund already has commitments in excess of £100 million.
Asset Alliance Corp. bought a 50% equity and revenue sharing interest in hedge fund manager Bricoleur Capital Management, which offers a long short value equity style, said Arnold L. Mintz, executive vice president of Asset Alliance. Asset Alliance is an umbrella firm focused on alternative-style managers, and usually takes 50% ownership.
