The London Borough of Southwark Pension Fund hired active global equity manager AllianceBernstein Institutional Investment to run £150 million ($280 million) split evenly between growth and value, said Caroline Watson, pension fund investment manager. It also hired Newton Investment Management for a £50 million active global equity portfolio. In addition, the plan increased its real estate exposure to 20% of assets from 12%. The increase will go to Henderson Global Investors, the sole manager of the plan's real estate assets.
The changes were the result of an asset allocation restructuring by the £680 million fund early this year.
Partial funding came from terminating Putnam Investments from a £90 million active global equities portfolio and Aberdeen Asset Management from a £25 million corporate bond portfolio. Another £100 million U.K. equity portfolio that had been managed by Deutsche Asset Management before Aberdeen's acquisition of the business in 2005. The remainder came from a reduction in an equity index fund managed by Barclays Global Investors; amounts weren't available.
"The main reason (for the changes) was a triennial evaluation in 2004 that showed we were 75% funded. In 2001, we were 94% funded," Ms. Watson said. "We wanted to recover from that."
Hewitt Associates advised.
