Texas Permanent School Fund, Austin, has issued an RFP for up to three...

Texas Permanent School Fund, Austin, has issued an RFP for up to three consultants. Contracts for Holbein Associates, which currently is the $20 billion fund’s performance measurement consultant, and IAS, which does asset allocation and money manager selection, expire soon. Trustees will select one to three firms to perform these functions at the next board meeting, Sept. 9 and 10. "In the performance measurement area some board members have considered Mr. Holbein’s presentation to lean toward portraying our current managers in a positive light,’’ said Robert Offutt, trustee and chairman of the finance committee. He added that some board members are not pleased with the outcome of the asset allocation implemented in 1997 by Fred Seponara of IAS, which may have lost money for the fund. The asset mix is 65% equities and 35% bonds. David Bradley, vice chairman of the committee, said that Mr. Seponara "had made manager allocation recommendations of almost $2 billion and failed to give any qualitative analysis as to why he made those recommendations.’’ A new asset allocation recommended by Mr. Seponara is expected to be approved at the September board meeting also. Messrs. Holbein and Seponara did not return phone calls for comment by press time.