American Independence Funds hired Security Global Investors as subadviser of the $100 million American Independence International Equity fund, confirmed Eric Rubin, president of parent American Independence Financial Services.
Mr. Rubin said in an e-mail response to questions that AIF had been using an in-house quantitative team but felt active management would improve investment results.
Amonis hires JPMorgan as global custodian
Amonis OFP, Brussels, hired JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services as global custodian, according to Hugo Lasat, CEO of the €1 billion ($1.5 billion) fund.
JPMorgan replaced State Street Corp., Mr. Lasat said in an interview. One reason for the switch was that JPMorgan offered to help the fund restructure its asset allocation. When completed, total assets will be divided into a growth and an income portfolio, Mr. Lasat said. The growth portfolio likely will account for 55% to 60% of total assets, while the remainder will be invested in an income portfolio dominated by fixed income. The “evolution” of the fund is still in progress, Mr. Lasat said.
Thomas Murray, a specialist pension fund advisory firm, advised.
12 U.S. small-cap managers get the call from AP1
AP1, Stockholm, hired 12 U.S. small-cap equity managers, according to the 181.4 Swedish kroner ($25.5 billion) fund's website.
The managers are BlackRock; Champlain Investment Partners, Dimensional Fund Advisors; Fisher Asset Management; IronBridge Capital Management; Martingale Asset Management; Morgan Stanley Investment Management; Pzena Investment Management; Snyder Capital Management; Thompson, Siegel and Walmsley; TCW; and UBS Global Asset Management.
Funding for the managers has not been determined.
Further information was not available; AP1 spokesman Ossian Ekdahl could not be reached.
Arizona Public sets $260 million for investment
Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, Phoenix, committed up to a combined $260 million in five separate investments in credit opportunities, real assets and a core active bond fund, confirmed James Hacking, administrator of the $5.9 billion system.
The system on Dec. 16 committed up to $80 million to the BlackRock Core Active Bond Fund. The mandate is in addition to the $600 million the system committed to the bond fund earlier this year.
The system also committed up to $55 million to Commerce Street Income Partners II LP, which invests in structured bank and financial services debt, Mr. Hacking said. The mandate is categorized in the system's credit opportunities asset class.
Another credit opportunities move is a commitment of up to $50 million in King Street Capital LP, which focuses on long and short credit and event-driven opportunities, such as investment-grade and high-yield debt, capital structure trades and distressed debt, Mr. Hacking said.
The system also made a commitment of up to $50 million to Fischer Francis Trees & Watts to actively manage a U.S. inflation-linked bond strategy coupled with an actively managed currency program. The focus of the strategy is on TIPS and currency overlay. The investment is categorized in the system's real assets class.
Also, the system approved an investment of up to $25 million in Tennenbaum DIP Opportunity Fund, which will go in the system's credit opportunities class. Mr. Hacking said the debtor-in-possession fund provides liquidity for companies to emerge from bankruptcy.
All commitments are pending due diligence, Mr. Hacking said.
He said the credit opportunities allocation represented 7.03% of the overall portfolio, as of Nov. 30. The system's real assets accounted for 4.82% of the overall system, as of the same date, he said.
Mr. Hacking said the commitments are part of the system's overall move toward lowering its equity exposure and diversifying the overall portfolio.
CalPERS goes with Meketa as infrastructure consultant
CalPERS' investment committee approved hiring Meketa Investment Group as the Sacramento, Calif.-based system's first lead infrastructure consultant.
Pension Consulting Alliance, R.V. Kuhns and Wilshire Associates were the other finalists..
FIS Group gets Chicago Muni mandate; Ariel and Neuberger off watch
Chicago Municipal Employees' Retirement System hired FIS Group as its new manager of emerging managers, and took Ariel Capital Management and Neuberger Berman off watch status, said Jim Mohler, chief investment officer of the $4.9 billion system.
FIS succeeds United Investment Managers, which was put on watch in September because of a change in ownership at the firm. The mandate is for about $100 million, Mr. Mohler said. Mr. Mohler declined to discuss the reason for the switch.
A UIM spokesman could not be reached for comment by press time.
Coal Services hires Colonial First for Australian equities
Coal Services Pty. Ltd., Sydney, hired Colonial First State Global Asset Management to run A$60 million (US$54 million) in Australian equities, according to Investment & Technology newspaper.
The assets had been managed by Alpha Investment Management, which closed in May.
David Jay, Coal Services' company secretary and treasurer, said the deciding factors were Colonial's history, longevity and size of funds under management. “The clincher,” he said, “was Colonial's research capabilities.”
FRR names five to run U.S. dollar credit strategy
Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites, Paris, appointed five managers to run a €1.5 billion ($2.5 billion) credit strategy denominated in U.S. dollars. The managers are AXA Investment Managers, BlackRock, Conning Asset Management, Deutsche Asset Management and Schroder Investment Management, according to an announcement on the €28.8 billion fund's website.
The hires are part of a broader portfolio overhaul implemented by the fund earlier this year. FRR adopted a new asset allocation that shifted 15% of total assets to fixed income from equities, resulting in a target of 45% each in equities and fixed income. The remaining 10% is split equally between real estate and commodities.
An FRR spokeswoman could not be reached for additional comment.
Cornerstone to subadvise Liberty All-Star Equity Fund
Liberty All-Star Funds hired Cornerstone Capital Management as a subadviser of the Liberty All-Star Equity Fund, a $935 million multimanager closed-end fund, according to a news release.
Cornerstone replaced Chase Investment Counsel.
Spokesmen for Liberty and ALPS Advisors, manager of the fund, could not be reached for comment.
Other subadvisers for the fund are Matrix Asset Advisors, Pzena Investment Management, Schneider Capital Management and TCW Investment Management.
Separately, Liberty hired Mazama Capital Management as a subadviser for the Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, a $117 million closed-end fund listed on the NYSE. Mazama also replaced Chase. The other two subadvisers of the fund are M.A. Weatherbie and TCW.
In a telephone interview, Derwood Chase, chairman and CEO of Chase Investment Counsel, said the recent departure of David Scott, one of five senior investment professionals at the firm, and short-term underperformance might have contributed to Liberty's decisions. Following a previous bout of underperformance earlier this decade, Chase delivered top-decile five-year performance, and hopes to work with the Liberty All-Star funds again, he said.
Maryland fund commits $822 million to private investments
Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, Baltimore, committed $822 million to private investments since Oct. 1, Mansco Perry, chief investment officer for the $31.8 billion fund, wrote in an e-mail.
Of the commitments, $275 million went to funds offered under the Treasury Department's Public-Private Investment Program: $100 million to RLJ Western Asset Management, $75 million to Advent/Wellington for a partnership managed by Wellington, $50 million to Angelo Gordon, and $50 million to Marathon Asset Management.
The system also committed $100 million each to Oaktree's Opportunities and Principal Opportunities funds, both distressed debt funds, Mr. Perry wrote.
The system also committed $194 million to mezzanine funds: €50 million ($72 million) each to Partners Group and Park Square Capital, and $25 million each to Merit Capital Partners and LBC Credit Partners.
White Deer Management received a $35 million energy commitment, and private equity funds Landmark Partners Secondary got a $75 million commitment; Azure CapitalIII, $25 million; and Quaker BioVentures II, $18 million, Mr. Perry wrote.
Britain's PPF hires three for global equities
Britain's Pension Protection Fund hired Longview Partners, Arrowstreet Capital and RCM to manage a global equity portfolio to be funded by new cash inflows in 2010, according to Ana Moreno, spokeswoman for the £3.3 billion ($5.2 billion) fund.
The funding is expected to total 7.5% of the fund's assets, she said.
The PPF, which insures U.K. corporate plans, also named Investec Asset Management, MFS International, Sarasin & Partners and Lazard Asset Management as standby managers for the portfolio.
In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011, the PPF estimates that about £720 million will be collected from the fees that companies pay into the fund, and the fund is expected to increase to about £10 billion over the next several years. Therefore fund officials wanted to have a stable of managers in place to handle the expanding portfolio.
Mercer advised.
MFS gets cash from Shropshire County for global equities
Shropshire County Pension Fund, Shrewsbury, England, hired MFS Investment Management to run £85 million ($139 million) in active global equities, according to Graham Chidlow, head of finance at the £880 million fund.
Funding came from terminating Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which ran the money in U.K. equities. The shift was because of a change in investment strategy to more global equities following an asset allocation review completed by Russell Investments earlier this year, Mr. Chidlow added. The termination wasn't for performance.
Russell advised on the search.
Wisconsin sets $35 million commitment to real estate
State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Madison, committed $35 million to Core Plus Real Estate Fund Q, an open-end fund of funds managed by Townsend Group, said Vicki Hearing, public information officer for the $70 billion system. Real estate consultant Cortland Partners assisted.
