City of Salem (Mass.) Retirement System issued RFPs for a small-cap to midcap domestic equity manager to handle $5 million and an alternatives/venture capital manager, said Kevin Leonard of consultant Segal Advisors. The size of the alternatives mandate has not yet been determined, but he estimated it would be close to $3 million. Proposals are due to the $70 million defined benefit plan March 29, said Mr. Leonard. Funding for the new equity manager will come from Wellington Management, which was terminated for performance reasons. Wellington officials did not return calls for comment by press time. Salem is entering alternatives on the advice of Segal. Funding will come from the system's equity portfolio.
Duluth (Minn.) Teachers' Retirement Fund issued an RFP for a domestic custodian to work with its $300 million defined benefit and $40 million defined contribution plan. Incumbent US Bank has been invited to rebid. The fund is conducting the search to make sure it is "getting the best service for the best price," said Jay Stoffel, executive director. Proposals are due April 7, and an announcement is expected in May. Jeffery Slocum & Associates is assisting.
City of Melrose (Mass.) Retirement System is conducting searches for a large-cap growth domestic equity manager to handle a $5 million portfolio and an enhanced core fixed-income manager to run $8.5 million. The $43 million defined benefit plan is adding the new asset classes for diversification, said Kevin Leonard, of consultant Segal Advisors. RFPs are available through Segal; proposals are due March 29 for the equity search and April 5 for the enhanced search.
Texas Hospital Association, Austin, is searching for a large-cap equity manager for its $265 million master trust. The mandate size has yet to be determined. The new manager will replace Independence Investment Associates, which was terminated because the retirement plan "didn't feel like they met objectives," said Fred Hamilton, vice president of Texas Hospital Insurance Network. He declined to give the size of the Independence portfolio. Independence did not return calls for comment by press time. Hewitt is assisting.
City of Lynn (Mass.) Retirement System is searching for an alternatives/venture capital manager to handle $5 million for the $163 million defined benefit plan. The asset style is new for the system, said Kevin Leonard of consultant Segal Advisors. The RFP is available from Segal; proposals are due April 6.
California State Teachers' Retirement System, Sacramento, asked its staff to come back in July with specific recommendations on investing in high-yield bonds for the first time. The staff of the $111 billion fund has suggested $1 billion to $1.5 billion in the asset class.
City of Jacksonville (Fla.) General Employees' Pension Fund is conducting an asset allocation study. Merrill Lynch, consultant for the $1.6 billion defined benefit plan, is reviewing all of the current managers and is scheduled to make a presentation to the fund this month, said Angela Wester Morrow, pension coordinator.
North Dakota Public Employees' Retirement System, Bismarck, is conducting an asset allocation study for its $1.2 billion defined benefit plan. The system conducts a study every four to five years, said Sparb Collins, executive director. Consultant Segal Advisors is expected to present a report in May.
