Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, hired Cambridge Associates as a one-time consultant to conduct an independent and wide-ranging review of its entire investment program, including policies and asset allocation for its $1.05 billion in pension, foundation and other fund assets, said Thomas Satkus Jr., assistant treasurer.
"We are building a new women’s hospital and want to make sure our investment program and our asset allocation are in sync with our financial needs,” he said. "It’s not that we don’t have confidence in Watson Wyatt (which remains the hospital’s investment consultant), but we want to have someone do an independent review of our program.”
Mr. Satkus doesn’t expect results until the end of March, when the investment board will review recommendations.
The hospital’s $300 million foundation and $200 million pension fund have the same asset allocation at 22% domestic large-cap equities, 21% midcap to small-cap equities, 17% private equity, 15% fixed income, 13% international equities, 6% absolute return or hedge funds, 3% distressed securities and 3% real estate equity. The $400 million hospital pool fund and $250 million self-insurance fund are run more conservatively, he said.
