Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, Baltimore, on Feb. 14 will interview finalists for a $7.2 billion Russell 3000 fund, a $1.9 billion Lehman Aggregate bond index fund and $945 million EAFE index fund. The $25.2 billion system conducted an invitation-only search for the mandates, said Carol Boykin, CIO. The moves are the result of a major overhaul of the system, which may result in a large portion of the fund’s equity and fixed-income assets being moved from internal to outside managers.
The system will consider whether only one manager should manage the entire $7.2 billion Russell 3000 fund, as consultant Ennis Knupp has recommended. About half of the money for the Russell 3000 fund will come from a $3.8 billion internally managed S&P index fund; the remainder will come from an S&P 500 index fund run by State Street Global Advisors. Money for the Lehman Aggregate fund will come from outsourcing an internally managed fund. Money for the EAFE fund will come from existing managers.
