Connecticut Retirement Plans & Trust Funds, Hartford, hired five firms to manage a total of $700 million in new liquidity funds, according to draft minutes from the Dec. 10 meeting of the $20 billion systems investment advisory council.
PIMCO will manage $200 million and Ambassador Capital Management and Payden & Rygel each will manage $75 million for the Liquidity Fund Tier II, announced Denise Nappier, Connecticut state treasurer, who authorized the hirings, according to the minutes. Colchester Global Investors and Lazard Asset Management will each run $175 million in the Liquidity Fund Tier III.
Joanne Dombrosky, principal fixed-income officer, said the liquidity fund is a new structure, which would allow more strategic management of cash and enable existing core bond and equity managers to stay fully invested, according to minutes from the Nov. 12 IAC meeting,. The three tiers provide cash for different time horizons, Ms. Dombrosky said. Tier I is managed by SSgA.
Separately, Ms. Nappier authorized a commitment of $35 million to Leeds Equity Partners V and hired BGI, BlackRock, BNY ConvergEx Group, Northern Trust, Russell Investments and State Street Global Markets as transition managers.
All of the hirings are pending contract negotiations, according to the draft minutes from the Dec. 10 meeting.