Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, Washington, hired Ennis Knupp as investment consultant, said Tom Trabucco, spokesman. Ennis Knupp will review the indexes to be used for four of the five investment options in the $164.8 billion Thrift Savings Plan, a preliminary step to conducting a routine search for managers of the four funds. The four indexes now in use are the S&P 500 for the C fund, the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond for the F fund, the Wilshire 4500 for the S fund and the MSCI EAFE for the I fund. The system invests the G fund in government securities.
Ennis Knupp also will look at whether the plan should use separate firms for securities lending; conduct a cost-benefit analysis of separate accounts vs. commingled funds; and gauge whether the plan should hire a separate custodian for any of the funds. Also, Ennis Knupp will examine whether the plan should invest in real estate, as recommended by Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., chairman of the House Federal Workforce and Agency Organization Subcommittee. Mortgage-backed securities now comprise 37% of the F fund and REIT investments make up 8% of the S fund.
The three-year contract is renewable for two additional years at the board's discretion, Mr. Trabucco said.
