News Briefs

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The CalPERS investment committee renewed the contracts for the $170 billion system's external international and domestic equity managers for one year.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System renewed international managers Arrowstreet Capital, Artisan Partners, Baillie Gifford, Grantham Mayo van Otterloo, Oechsle International, Robeco USA, AXA Rosenberg, Capital Guardian, Nomura Asset, AllianceBernstein Institutional, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Genesis Asset Managers and State Street Global Advisors.

The domestic managers are AllianceBernstein, Boston Co., Franklin Advisers, Geewax Terker, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Fleming, Oak Associates, Oppenheimer Capital, Osprey Partners and Pzena Investment Management.

CHICAGO — Investment returns for most U.S. pension plan investments were flat in the third quarter.

The median ERISA plan gained 10 basis points; the median public fund gained 43 basis points; and the median foundation/endowment gained eight basis points, according to data from Northern Trust Corp.

Year-to-date, the median gain for all U.S. plans was 3.5%, but for the year ended Sept. 30, the median ERISA plan returned 13.1%; the median foundation/endowment returned 13.4%; and the median public fund returned 12.8%.

For most plans, fixed-income gains were offset by higher allocations to equities, which did not perform as well, while plans with larger allocations to private equity and real estate generally posted better gains, Paul Finlayson, vice president, investment risk and analytics services at Northern Trust, said in a news release.

Northern Trust tracks the performance of more than 300 institutional investment plans in its universe with a combined asset value of more than $390 billion.

• Legg Mason, Baltimore, reported record high assets under management of $311 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 5% from the previous quarter. Net revenues for the quarter were a record high $568 million, and net earnings were $91.7 million.

• JPMorgan Fleming's assets under management increased by $165 billion to $735 billion as of Sept. 30, primarily because of the addition of Banc One Investment Advisors' assets following the merger of JPMorgan Chase and Bank One, which closed on July 1, said Mary Sedarat, JPMorgan Fleming spokeswoman. She declined to provide further information. JPMorgan Chase's operating earnings were $2.2 billion for the third quarter, compared with $1.81 billion or 85 cents in the previous quarter.

• BNY Asset Management, New York, reported assets under management of $97 billion for the third quarter, up from $93 billion as of June 30, said R. Jeep Bryant, spokesman. Parent company Bank of New York reported third-quarter net income of $354 million, compared with $371 million for the second quarter, according to a statement.

• Mellon Financial, Pittsburgh, reported a $9 billion decline in assets under management in the third quarter, to $670 billion, citing money market outflows and market depreciation, according to the firm's earnings report. However, assets under custody rose 18% in the third quarter to a record $3.09 trillion. Net income rose 4% for the third quarter, to $183 million.

• Gabelli Asset Management, Rye, N.Y., reported a $1 billion decline in assets under management in the third quarter, to $27.2 billion, said Michael Anastasio, chief financial officer. He attributed the loss to market depreciation and cash flows. Gabelli also reported $13 million in net income in the third quarter, compared with $13.9 million in the previous quarter.

• Janus Capital Group, Denver, reported $34.3 million in net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30, after adjustment for one-time charges and tax credits, down 45% from $62.4 million in the third quarter 2003. The decline partly reflected a drop in the group's assets under management to $130.2 billion from $146.5 billion the year before, according to the company's third-quarter earnings report.

BERWYN, Pa. — Stephen J. Kneeley, former president and CEO of Turner Investment Partners, plans to open his own asset management firm, Ardmore Investment Partners, in late November. Ardmore's investment strategy will target inefficient asset classes, such as domestic small-cap value, core and growth, as well as international small-cap equities, Mr. Kneeley said. He would not identify potential partners or investment professional candidates. Mr. Kneeley's personal wealth, along with assets of his friends and family, are among Ardmore's capital providers at this time.

Mr. Kneeley left Turner in April. Robert E. Turner Jr., chairman and CIO of growth equities for Turner, took over Mr. Kneeley's CEO responsibilities, and Mark Turner, vice chairman, has taken on Mr. Kneeley's president duties, said Tucker Hewes, spokesman.

LONG GROVE, Ill. — The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. is taking over the underfunded pension plan of the Lumbermen's Mutual Casualty Co., which owns Kemper Insurance Corp.

The plan has $515 million in assets and $1.055 billion in liabilities; the agency expects to be liable for about $529 million of the $535 million shortfall.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Allianz Dresdner Asset Management will be renamed Allianz Global Investors by the first quarter of 2005, according to a news release from parent Allianz Group. Allianz Global Investors' investment companies, including PIMCO and RCM Capital Management, will retain their names.

SAN FRANCISCO — Berkeley Capital Management agreed to acquire Delta Asset Management from ING Investment Management, said James E. Landau, Berkeley chief executive officer. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close later this year.

The combined company will employ 30 people and manage more than $5 billion.

Mr. Landau said there are no plans to lay off any Delta employees. Robert Crispin, ING Investment president and CEO, was unavailable for comment, and Michael McComb and Michael Geoffrey, compliance officers, did not return calls by press time for comment.

The following companies announced they have made or will make contributions to their defined benefit plans:

• Aetna Inc., Hartford, Conn., contributed $310 million to its $3.5 billion defined benefit pension plan, according to the company's third-quarter earnings report.

• Boeing Co., Chicago, could make additional discretionary contributions to its pension plan in the fourth quarter, the company reported in an SEC filing. Boeing didn't indicate how much it would contribute. The company made $3.6 billion in discretionary pension fund contributions in the first nine months of the year, including $1.6 billion in the third quarter, and $13 million in non-discretionary contributions during the nine months.

• Gillette Co., Boston, contributed $50 million to its pension plans in the third quarter, bringing its total contributions for the year to $84 million, according to an SEC filing. Gillette expects to contribute "at least" $100 million for the year in total, almost double its previous estimated contribution of $52 million.

• BP PLC, London, made $83 million in pension plan contributions in the third quarter, and $249 million year-to-date Sept. 30, according to the company's quarterly earnings report. Details on how the contributions were split between the U.S. and U.K. plans were unavailable.

• AK Steel Holding Corp., Middletown, Ohio, will make $150 million of a required $300 million 2005 contribution to its defined benefit plan before the end of the year to meet its required 80% funding status.