Alaska dives into hedge fund investing

Alaska State Pension Investment Board, Juneau, selected its first hedge fund managers — Cadogan Management, Mariner Investment Group and Quellos Capital Management — and agricultural investment firms — UBS AgriVest and Hancock — all subject to contract negotiations. Each firm will run $100 million. Funding will come from the system's $2.2 billion internally managed fixed-income portfolio. The changes were part of the $12.2 billion system's new asset mix, effective July 1, which adds a 3% allocation to absolute return strategies and adds 3% to "other" investments, which include agriculture. Among the other changes: 2% was allocated to high-yield bonds; domestic fixed income was cut to 24% from 30%; domestic large-cap equity was trimmed to 30% from 31%; and international fixed income was reduced to 2% from 3%. The other allocations remain the same: 15% international equity; 9% real estate; and 6% domestic small-cap equity and private equity (formerly classified as alternatives). Callan assisted.