Telkom Retirement Fund, Pretoria, South Africa, is looking for balanced managers to manage 8.1 billion rand ($1 billion) in domestic assets, said Willem Myburg, principal officer at the 9.5 billion rand plan. Incumbent managers Gensec Asset, Investec, BOE Asset and RMB Asset will be asked to rebid; each manages 2.37 billion rand. "Our managers have been with us for five years, and the time is ripe to look at the market and see if they are the best for the job,” he said.
The fund plans to hire up to six balanced managers, and international firms will be required to have a local presence, he said. Managers have until Jan. 1 to submit completed questionnaires, and a decision is likely by April.
Telkom hired Frank Russell to manage 1.4 billion rand in international equities through regional-based manager-of-manager portfolios; the assets were managed by the plan’s four incumbent managers as part of their balanced mandates.
"Our local guys are good on local investments but not so good on international investing,” added Mr. Myburg.
Alexander Forbes advised.
