Leicestershire County Council Pension Fund, Leicester, England, hired Goldman Sachs Asset Management to run a £270 million ($496 million) active global equity portfolio as part of a restructuring that also includes the fund's first active currency strategy, according to Colin Pratt, investments manager.
Following a strategic review conducted by investment consultant Hymans Robertson, the board of the £2 billion pension fund decided to discontinue a £402 million passive multiasset portfolio that has been managed by Barclays Global Investors since 1992. The decision was not related to performance, Mr. Pratt said in a prepared statement.
The money was used to fund the GSAM portfolio, in addition to bolstering existing portfolios - Standard Life Investment received an additional £70 million for its U.K. active equity portfolio; Morley Fund Management received another £35 million in an active bonds/property portfolio; and UBS Global Asset Management is running an additional £27 million in an active multiasset portfolio.
The fund's management board also hired Millennium Global Investments and Mellon Capital Management to each manage a £340 million active currency portfolio. Millennium will also run a £680 million passive currency portfolio that seeks to hedge 70% of its currency exposure related to overseas equity.