Illinois State Board of Investment, Chicago, hired UBS Brinson to...

Illinois State Board of Investment, Chicago, hired UBS Brinson to manage a $200 million enhanced international index account, said Ron Schmitz, CIO. Funding came from active international manager Cursitor Eaton, which the board terminated last month. The decision was based on the firm’s asset allocation and "performance that was less than desirable,’’ he said. A spokesman for Alliance Capital Management, which owns Cursitor Eaton, declined to comment. The hiring is part of the $8 billion pension fund’s change in international investing, he said. The board recently classified its managers in three groups: enhanced index; core; and aggressive. The fund’s international equity benchmark is the MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. index; Brinson will quantitatively manage the account with a tracking error of plus or minus 2%, Mr. Schmitz said. The fund also is reviewing proposals from active aggressive international managers, he said. Investment staff are likely to make a recommendation to the board by the end of May. Pension Consulting Alliance is assisting.