Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, Columbus, issued an RFP for a private equity consultant, said Greg Uebele, senior investment officer at the $84.5 billion fund. Incumbent Pacific Consulting Group, whose contract expires Feb. 6, may rebid, Mr. Uebele said. Ohio PERS has a 4% target allocation to private equity. The RFP is available on the plan's website, www.opers.org; proposals are due Sept. 30.
Watertown (Mass.) Contributory Retirement System is searching for a manager to run about $6 million in active domestic midcap growth equities, according to an RFP issued by the $70 million plan's consultant, Wainwright Investment Counsel. Barbara A. Sheehan, pension plan director, said the goal is to add diversification. Hutchens Investment Management, the plan's only midcap manager, runs $11.8 million in active domestic midcap core, she said. Funding will come from rebalancing; Ms. Sheehan said she didn't believe any manager would be terminated. She referred additional questions to Gus Aristizabal, the consultant at Wainwright who works with the plan; he was not available for comment by press time. The RFP is available on Wainwright's website, www.winvcounsel.com. Proposals are due Sept. 30.
Illinois State Board of Investment, Chicago, plans to issue an RFP within the next week for an active domestic large-cap value equity manager to run $385 million, said William Atwood, executive director of the $11 billion fund. Previous manager Bear Stearns Asset Management was terminated for performance and compliance issues, he said. The money is parked in a Russell 1000 value index fund managed by State Street Global Advisors, until a replacement is hired, Mr. Atwood said. The RFP will be available from consultant Marquette Associates, which is assisting in the search. Mr. Atwood said he didn't have a date for the RFP submission deadline, other than to say interested managers should send their proposals as soon as possible. The board's investment policy committee could make a recommendation from the RFPs for the board Oct. 20. Russell Sherman, BSAM spokesman, said: "We are disappointed with their decision. We believe there was insufficient time to adequately judge the fund's long-term performance and we made a concerted effort to answer their questions in a timely manner. We hope that they will reconsider their position at some point in the future." The board hired Bear Stearns in April 2004.
San Francisco City & County Employees Retirement System plans to issue an RFP for an emerging markets equity manager, said David Kushner, deputy director for investments. The size of the portfolio has not been determined. The $13 billion plan wants to "replace or complement" Capital International, which runs $337 million in emerging markets growth equities, according to a memo to the board. Capital International has been on watch since the third quarter of 2003 for performance, the memo said. Chuck Freadhoff, spokesman for Capital International parent Capital Group Cos., said the firm doesn't comment on client activities. Capital International can rebid, Mr. Kushner said. The RFP will be available soon on the system's website, www.sfgov.org/site/sfers_index.asp; proposals are due Oct. 7. Angeles Investment Advisors will assist.
Missouri Higher Education Savings Board, Jefferson City, is searching for a manager to run the state's $750 million 529 plan under a five-year contract, said Mark Hughes, policy director for Sarah Steelman, state treasurer and board chairwoman. Current program manager TIAA-CREF's contract will expire May 9. The program now only offers funds managed by TIAA-CREF; board members want to include other mutual fund families as investment options, Mr. Hughes said. The board also wants to include a broader adviser-assisted option as well as its base direct-investment option. TIAA-CREF can rebid. The RFP is available on the treasurer's website at www.treasurer.mo.gov; proposals are due Oct. 31. AKF Consulting is assisting.
San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement System, Stockton, Calif., will consider hiring new managers to run opportunistic and value-added real estate portfolios. The board of the $1.7 billion system approved investing up to 40% of the fund's $34 million real estate allocation in value-added, from 20% and expanded the range of opportunistic real estate investments to 0 to 40% of the overall portfolio, from 0 to 15%, said Robert Palmer, retirement administrator. The board decided there are more opportunities for "better returns" in value-added and opportunistic real estate funds, and there is the "potential" for hiring new managers in these areas, Mr. Palmer said. The system's consultant, ORG Holdings, will screen candidates and make recommendations to board officials in the next 90 days, Mr. Palmer said. Interested managers can contact ORG Holdings.
Louisiana District Attorneys Association Retirement System, Baton Rouge, is considering adding alternative investments to its asset allocation, said Ed Ware, chairman of the board. The $172 million plan's equity allocation is expected to exceed the 65% maximum allocation set by the state because of its performance, he said. The board, in conjunction with consultant Rushmore Investment Advisors, is looking alternatives to traditional fixed-income investments to invest the excess. Real estate has been discussed as one option, but the board will continue exploring other possibilities, Mr. Ware said. The board will discuss the matter further at its Nov. 16 meeting.
