RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Retirement System approved policy changes that lift the investment caps for the $58.7 billion system's real estate, private equity and credit strategy allocations, said Jeanne Chenault, spokeswoman. The investment limit for real estate and private equity each was raised to 10% of total assets from 7%, while the cap on credit strategies was also moved up to 10%, from 6%.
“It just gives the investment department flexibility,” Ms. Chenault said.
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Endowment Fund Investment Board decided to defer consideration of adding alternatives to its portfolio until 2009, said Larry Johnson, manager of investments for the $1.2 billion fund. In the meantime, board officials will do an analysis of the existing portfolio looking for “unintended correlations and biases,” he said.
The board decided at a meeting Feb. 14 to wait until the analysis is conducted before proceeding, Mr. Johnson said. The fund's asset mix was 50.6% domestic equities, 16.1% international equities, 31.3% fixed income, 2% cash, as of Jan. 31, according to its website.
Separately, the board is recommending that the $580 million State Insurance Fund and the $62 million Judges' Retirement Fund portfolios move $15 million and $9 million, respectively, in international equities to passive management from active. Tradewinds is the current international equity manager for the funds. The board is recommending the move because having one active manager subjects the funds to variation and style bias. “There's too much concentration,” Mr. Johnson said.
Mr. Johnson said the board is contacting index managers. No consultant is being used.
PARK RIDGE, Ill. — United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Employers Midwest Pension Fund, Park Ridge, heard an educational presentation on commodities and global TIPS from consultant Marco Consulting Group at a board meeting Feb. 15, said Daniel Ryan, plan administrator. The $1.4 billion fund does not have any assets in those classes right now and is thinking about adding some, Mr. Ryan said.
NEW YORK — Venture capital firms invested $928 million in 80 deals in India in 2007, up 166% from $349 million invested in 36 transactions in 2006, according to data released Feb. 21 by Dow Jones Venture Source. About 41% of the investments went to information technology companies, making up $384 million of the total investment. Another $346 million was invested in business, consumer service and retail companies in 30 deals, a 92% increase over the $180 million invested in 16 transactions in 2006.
LONDON — GAM added a new low-volatility fund, Multi-Diversified LV, to its lineup of hedge funds of funds. David Smith, chief investment director of GAM's multimanager hedge funds, is lead portfolio manager. The fund invests in the same underlying hedge fund strategies Mr. Smith uses for GAM's flagship Diversity fund, but with a different portfolio weighting “to lower both volatility and correlation to equities,” according to a news release. GAM MD LV's portfolio invests 50% of fund assets in arbitrage strategies and 25% each to equity hedge and trading strategies. The flagship fund is 50% weighted to equity hedge and 25% each to trading and arbitrage strategies.
“The new strategy responds to institutional investors' demand for a “lower volatility, correlation and internationally diversified hedge fund of funds,” Joseph Gieger, managing director-Americas, said in a news release.
LONDON — MSCI Barra is launching an investible hedge fund index designed to “reflect the overall structure and composition of the Asia-Pacific hedge fund universe,” according to a news release. Calculation of the MSCI Asia-Pacific Hedge Fund OPTIX index is expected to begin in March with about 20 constituent funds. Natixis Alternative Investments Ltd. is leasing the index. NAI will work with SPARX International Ltd. to select and conduct due diligence on the hedge fund managers.
