Hirings

MILWAUKEE — American Appraisal Associates Inc. hired Francis Investment Counsel to provide investment consulting and employee communication and education services for its $31.2 million 401(k) plan. Diane Bradley, vice president of human resources, said previous consultant Smith Barney was terminated for organizational reasons.

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio — Antioch University invested about $2 million in the PIMCO Total Return fund, said Don Tecklenburg, controller. Funding came from reducing an active domestic fixed-income portfolio run by Seix Investment to $2.5 million. Officials for the $25 million endowment made the move in response to rising interest rates and thought the PIMCO fund was more diversified, he said. Smith Barney assisted.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Ash Grove Cement Co. hired Barclays Global to manage $38 million in passive domestic bonds and Delaware International to run $5 million in active international value equities, said Kent Sunderland, vice chairman. The $170 million pension plan funded the BGI hiring by terminating Banc of America Capital, which ran the money in active domestic fixed income; Banc of America was "not meeting our expectations," Mr. Sunderland said; funding for Delaware's portfolio came from cash. Asset Consulting Group assisted.

Jennifer Tice, Banc of America spokeswoman, said the firm does not comment on specific clients but remains "dedicated to delivering competitive investment performance."

ATLANTA — Atlanta Police Officers' Pension Fund rehired Balentine & Co. as investment consultant, said Rick Anderson, city chief financial officer. Balentine's previous contract expired at the end of 2003, and trustees of the $460 million plan issued an RFP because they wanted to review other firms, Mr. Anderson said.

BROCKTON, Mass. — Brockton Contributory Retirement System hired small-cap growth equity manager Independence Investment and made commitments to private equity funds run by Lazard Asset, Watermill Ventures, HealthPoint Partners and Carlyle Group, said Harold P. Hanna, executive director.

Independence will run $9 million in an active domestic portfolio for the $200 million pension plan. The plan committed $5 million to Lazard and $3.5 million each to Watermill, HealthPoint and Carlyle, Mr. Hanna said.

Independence replaced Deutsche Asset, which was terminated for the performance of a similar mandate, Mr. Hanna said. DeAM was invited to rebid. The funding source for the private equity commitments has not been determined, but it might come from cash or the city's annual appropriation to the plan, he said.

"While we're sorry to lose any valued client, we remain confident in our product, platform and services," said Judy Inosanto, DeAM spokeswoman.

Wainwright Investment Counsel assisted.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Cadence Design Systems Inc. added the William Blair International Growth fund as an investment option in its $300 million 401(k) plan, according to Tracy Uyeda, principal benefits analyst. The fund replaced the American Century International Growth fund, which was not adhering to the plan's investment policies, Ms. Uyeda said. Arnerich, Massena assisted.

WOBURN, Mass. — Charrette LLC hired NYLIM Retirement Plan Services as bundled provider for its $10.5 million 401(k) plan, according to Larry Mansfield, Charrette vice president of human resources.

The previous bundled provider was American Express Retirement Services; Mr. Mansfield would not give the reason for the termination.

The plan now offers 15 investment options, up from 11. PFE Group assisted.

CARLISLE, Pa. — Cumberland County Retirement Fund hired Peirce Park Group to conduct a full plan review for the $75 million pension plan, said Al Whitcomb, secretary. Peirce Park will look at the plan's investment policy and manager performance, Mr. Whitcomb said. Trustees started the process following a change in county commissioners, he said. The review, the first in two years, is expected to take six months and changes are unlikely, he said.

NEW YORK — Cushman & Wakefield hired J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services as bundled provider of its $313 million 401(k) plan, said Harry Lishel, head of compensation and benefits. Fidelity was the previous bundled provider. "We had a good relationship with Fidelity and still have some Fidelity funds in our plan," said Mr. Lishel; he would not elaborate.

KEENE, Calif. — Juan De La Cruz Farmworkers Pension Plan hired Harris Associates and Rigel Capital to run $5 million each in active domestic large-cap equities, said Douglas Blaylock, administrator. Harris will run a value strategy for the $99 million pension plan, and Rigel, growth. The funding source had not been determined. The change is part of a restructuring of the plan's 30% large-cap equity allocation. Wurts & Associates assisted.

SEATTLE — Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is adding the Goldman Sachs Small Cap Value fund as an investment option in its $135 million 401(k)/profit-sharing plan, said Rob Mumford, benefits administrator. The plan is dropping the Fidelity Low-Priced Stock fund, which will be closing by the end of this month, Mr. Mumford said. UBS PRIME Asset Consulting is consultant.

WASHINGTON — District of Columbia Retirement Board hired Pantheon as private equity adviser. The firm will set up a discretionary private equity fund of funds for the $2.6 billion system, which will invest $300 million over four years, said Sheila Morgan-Johnson, chief investment officer. Pantheon will replace Hamilton Lane, the pension fund's non-discretionary private equity adviser; system officials wanted to move into discretionary allocations, she said.

ISELIN, N.J. — Engelhard Corp. hired Transamerica Investment Management to run $30 million in active domestic large-cap growth equities, according to a source at the company who did not want to be identified. The $620 million pension fund terminated the portfolio's previous manager, Strong Capital, on the advice of investment consultant Russell Investment Group, the source said.

DANVERS, Mass. — Essex Regional Retirement Board hired Wellington Management to handle $10 million in active domestic large-cap core equities, pending contract negotiations, said Cynthia Sweeney, chief executive assistant. Kevin Leonard, the Segal Advisors consultant who is assisting the $213 million plan, said funding would come from rebalancing.

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The Gainesville Employees' Retirement Fund hired active domestic fixed-income managers PIMCO and Taplin, Canida & Habacht to run $9 million each, pending contract negotiations, said Denise Jordan, retirement board secretary and city clerk. The $45 million pension plan terminated the bond portions of balanced portfolios run by Davis Hamilton Jackson and AllianceBernstein, Ms. Jordan said. Davis Hamilton continues to run about $7 million in active domestic large-cap growth equities; AllianceBernstein runs $7 million in active domestic large-cap value, she said. Trustees wanted to use specialist bond managers, she said. Merrill Lynch assisted.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — General Shale Products Corp. added the T. Rowe Price lifecycle funds as investment options in its two 401(k) plans, which have a combined $31 million in assets, said Joanne Gilmer, manager of human resources and employee benefits. The funds replace the T. Rowe Price Personal Strategy funds; Ms. Gilmer said plan officials wanted to offer options that were "a little more user-friendly." T. Rowe Price is bundled provider of the 401(k) plans. Oxford Financial assisted.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Holland & Knight LLP will add the Neuberger Berman High Income Bond, Royce Low-Priced Stock and Lazard Emerging Markets funds as investment options in its $300 million 401(k) plan, effective Oct. 1, said Linda Lake, retirement benefits coordinator. The plan will drop the Morgan Stanley Institutional High Yield portfolio, which has been on watch for performance for more than a year, and the Fidelity Low-Priced Stock fund, which closes at the end of this month, Ms. Lake said. The Lazard fund will be the plan's first emerging markets option. Andrea Slattery, Morgan Stanley spokeswoman, didn't return a call by press time seeking comment.

Brock-Hazzard Investment Group of Wachovia Securities assisted.

NEW YORK — IMAX Corp. hired ABN AMRO Retirement Plan Services as bundled provider of its $6 million 401(k) plan, said Mary Sullivan, IMAX human resources director.

Ms. Sullivan said IMAX was "very happy" with the previous bundled provider, Fidelity, but ABN AMRO charged less to add company stock as an investment option.

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Jacksonville Beach Retirement System invested $5 million in the Touchstone Emerging Growth fund and $2 million in the American Funds EuroPacific Growth fund, said Heidi Reagan, city clerk and pension administrator.

Funding for the Touchstone fund came from reducing an active domestic large-cap value equity portfolio run by Trusco Capital, leaving it with $19 million, Ms. Reagan said. Trustees of the $52 million pension plan made the change for added diversification, she said.

Funding for the American Funds fund came from terminating the plan's investment in the Putnam International Growth fund because trustees wanted to be "fiduciarily safe and sound," following market-timing charges against Putnam Investments, she said. Merrill Lynch assisted.

Laura McNamara, Putnam spokeswoman, did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System authorized committing $25 million to Tuckerman Residential Income and Value-Added Fund IV and $10 million to Southern California Smart Growth Fund I. The $7.7 billion plan will fund the commitments from cash. Also, contracts were renewed with Lincoln Capital Management to handle $730 million in active domestic fixed income and Aronson + Johnson + Ortiz to run $255 million in active domestic large-cap value equities.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund hired Capital Guardian Trust to manage $72 million in active domestic large-cap core equities, said Charlotte Massey, executive secretary. The $200 million pension fund terminated the portfolio's previous manager for performance, Ms. Massey said; she would not identify the firm.

A source close to the situation, who wished to remain anonymous, said Independence Investments managed the fund's large-cap assets. Officials with Independence Investments didn't return calls seeking comment by press time.

Summit Strategies assisted.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis City Retirement System hired active domestic large-cap growth equity managers Transamerica Investment Management to run $110 million and Paradigm Asset Management to handle $10 million, said Sam Johnson, investment manager.

Funding came from the performance-based termination of Alliance Capital, which ran $120 million in active domestic large-cap growth equities for the $1.8 billion system, Mr. Johnson said. John Meyers, spokesman for Alliance Capital, declined comment.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Minnkota Power Cooperative Inc. added four Schwab lifecycle retirement funds as investment options in its $10.1 million 401(k) plan, said Doug Gregoire, pension administrator. The plan now has 16 investment options. Schwab is bundled provider.

LAS VEGAS — Nevada Higher Education Trust Fund hired Milliman USA to provide actuarial valuation services, said Janice Wright, deputy state treasurer. Milliman will perform an actuarial valuation of the $65 million 529 plan for the fiscal year ended June 30. Milliman, which previously held the contract to perform the plan's annual valuations, signed a new four-year contract. She said the plan received five "really good proposals" after an RFP was issued. Actuarial Resources; Bryan Pendleton Swats & McAllister; Lewis & Ellis; and Mellon Consultants were finalists.

CHICAGO — Northbrook Corp. invested $5 million in the PIMCO Real Return fund, according to a plan official who asked not to be identified. The $75 million pension plan reduced its investment in the PIMCO Opportunity fund to $1 million, the official said. Trustees wanted to diversify, according to the official. Jeffrey Slocum & Associates assisted.

BOSTON — Old Mutual Investment Partners hired Mellon Global Securities Services to provide middle- and back-office services for a majority of Old Mutual's U.S. managed accounts business, according to a news release from Mellon GSS parent Mellon Financial. An Old Mutual spokesman said the services had been handled internally.

ORLANDO, Fla. — City of Orlando hired Duff & Phelps to run a total of $45 million in a REIT for the city's three pension plans, which have combined assets of $620 million, said Kent Olfson, treasurer. Duff & Phelps replaced EII Realty, which ran the money in a less aggressive REIT portfolio; trustees hope a more aggressive style will increase returns. Kalson & Associates assisted.

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Oshkosh Truck Corp. added the Ariel Appreciation, American Funds Capital World Growth & Income and Fidelity Diversified International funds as investment options in its three 401(k) plans, which have combined assets of $179 million, said Kathy Brown, benefits manager. The plans, which mirror each other, will drop the Strong Opportunity and Janus Worldwide funds, Ms. Brown said. Investment committee members made the changes following a quarterly review, she said, declining to elaborate. Robert W. Baird assisted.

NEW YORK — Pearson Inc. hired J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services as bundled provider for its $1 billion 401(k) plan, according to Mary Sedarat, a spokeswoman for J.P. Morgan. The firm replaced Bank of New York as bundled provider. Neither Bob Arthur, director of benefits for Pearson, nor Kevin Heine, BNY spokesman, would comment.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System hired Bridgewater and Brown Brothers Harriman to run $800 million each in Treasury inflation-protected securities, said Alan van Noord, chief investment officer. The $47.5 billion pension fund is putting 5% of its assets into TIPS; the remainder of the $2.3 billion allocation will be managed internally. Funding is coming from the fund's domestic small-cap and midcap equity portfolios; Mr. van Noord would not specify which managers were affected.

Separately, the system is in contract negotiations to hire three alpha overlay managers to run a combined $3.6 billion; Mr. van Noord would not provide further details.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The $24.8 billion Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System committed up to $50 million each to Providence Equity Partners V and InterWest Partners IX; up to $40 million to OCM Opportunities Fund V; and up to $10 million to UMS Partners Fund I. Cambridge Associates assisted.

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco City & County Employees' Retirement System approved committing up to $12 million to Knightsbridge Venture Capital VI, an early stage fund of funds. Portfolio Advisors assisted the $11.8 billion system on the private equity decisions.

In addition, the board approved increasing by $50 million the system's allocation to an apartment co-investment program with GMAC, raising it to $180 million. Townsend Group assisted.

SARASOTA, Fla. — The $112 million Sarasota Police Officers' Pension Fund invested $39 million in the PIMCO Total Return II mutual fund and $11 million in a J.P. Morgan Fleming commingled real estate fund and hired Buckhead Capital to run $6 million in active domestic small-cap value equities, said Benita Saldutti, administrator. Funding will come from rebalancing — midcap equities were trimmed and the fixed-income portions of three balanced portfolios were eliminated in May — and from terminating 1838 Investment, which ran a $30 million active domestic large-cap core equity portfolio for the plan, she said. The changes follow an asset allocation study that added small-cap value equity and real estate allocations, she said. Merrill Lynch assisted.

The new asset allocation is 55% large-cap equity; 25% fixed income, down from 35%; 5% midcap equity, down from 10%; 10% real estate and 5% small-cap equity.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — ShopKo Stores Inc. hired CitiStreet as bundled provider for its $330 million 401(k)/profit-sharing plan, said Dan Bostedt, vice president of HR services. CitiStreet replaced American Express, the plan's longtime provider. Retirement committee members wanted to review the provider marketplace and enhance the automated services offered to participants, Mr. Bostedt said. Curcio Webb assisted.

TAUNTON, Mass. — The Taunton Contributory Retirement System committed $2 million to the ING Clarion Lion Properties Fund, said Paul J. Slivinski, executive director. Funding will come from the $134 million plan's fixed-income allocations, he said. Segal Advisors assisted.

LISLE, Ill. — Teepak LLC hired J.H. Ellwood & Associates as its first investment consultant for its two 401(k) plans, with combined assets of $43 million, and three pension plans, with a total of $23 million, said Patricia Riccio, benefits manager. DiMeo Schneider and Ennis Knupp were the other finalists.

Ms. Riccio previously said the new consultant will review bundled provider Putnam Investments because of market-timing allegations against the firm; in an interview this month, she would not specify what action would take place, saying preliminary meetings with Ellwood had not taken place.

"We believe the initiatives we've recently undertaken to earn back investor trust will be a benefit over the long term," said Laura McNamara, Putnam spokeswoman. "Our top priority is managing the money that has been placed in our care."

MINNEAPOLIS — Thrivent Investment Management hired T. Rowe Price and Mercator Asset Management as subadvisers to the $591 million Thrivent Partner International Stock Portfolio, $177 million Thrivent Partner International Stock Fund, $69 million Thrivent Partner Small-Cap Value Fund and $45 million Thrivent Partner Small-Cap Value Portfolio, said Bill Harke, spokesman. Callan Associates assisted. The assets in the Thrivent Partner International fund and portfolio were subadvised by Oechsle International Advisors as part of the AAL Mutual Funds. The Thrivent Partner International Stock portfolio and fund were managed internally, he said.

NEW YORK — TIAA-CREF Asset Management hired Mellon Global Securities Services as global custodian for its $815 million in assets under management, confirmed Nancy Heller, head of TIAA-CREF Asset Management. Also, Mellon affiliate Russell/Mellon will provide performance measurement and analytics.

TOLEDO, Ohio — The Toledo Newspaper Unions-Blade Pension Trust hired Ryan Labs to run $25 million in active domestic intermediate core bonds, said Al Espen, administrative manager. The $95 million plan terminated Ark Asset from a similar portfolio, Mr. Espen said. Trustees were "updating (the plan's) investment policy," he said; he declined to elaborate. Richards & Tierney assisted.

LIVONIA, Mich. — Valassis Communications Inc. added the Royce Premier and Harbor International Return funds as investment options in its $130 million 401(k)/profit-sharing plan, said Mary Stencel, benefit plans supervisor. The Royce fund replaced the J.P. Morgan U.S. Small Company Opportunity fund; the Harbor fund was added for diversification, she said. Bundled provider J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services assisted.

FOREST CITY, Iowa — Winnebago Industries Inc. added the Fidelity Diversified International fund and dropped the American Century International Growth fund as investment options in its $177 million profit-sharing/401(k) plan, said Marcia Gerdes, personnel benefits administrator. Profit-sharing committee members were concerned about the performance of the American Century fund, which had been on watch for several quarters, Ms. Gerdes said. Defined Contribution Advisors assisted.

The American Century fund is a large-cap growth portfolio, while the international market has recently favored small-cap and value styles, said Beth Taylor, American Century spokeswoman.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Retirement System rehired Mellon Consultants as investment consultant, said Harry Wales, deputy director.

Mellon signed a four-year contract with the $4.9 billion system, retroactive to July 1. R.V. Kuhns and T.R. Pipich were the other finalists.