Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, Columbus, will decide at its April board meeting how to fill its 8% target allocation to real estate, said David Graham, a plan spokesman. Currently, the $8.4 billion fund has about 4.5% of assets allocated to real estate. The decision could lead to searches for managers, he added. An exact date for the meeting has not been set.
Separately, the fund could terminate W.R. Huff Asset Management because of recent accusations that the firm took excessive advisory fees from companies in its high-yield bond portfolio late last year. Huff, which manages a $154 million high-yield bond portfolio for the fund, has been on watch since the third quarter for performance; Mr. Graham said the fee accusation could expedite the termination process. "The board did discuss Huff this week, but no further action has been taken for now," said Mr. Graham. The board is "keeping a close eye" on the situation and will make a decision at its next quarterly board meeting. "Right now, I can't speculate either way on the what the board will do," he said.
Huff was terminated by the $36 billion Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, Boston, earlier this month because of the fee situation.
Calls to William R. Huff, president and founder of the money management firm, were not returned.
