Austin (Texas) Deferred Compensation Plan hired ING U.S. Retirement Services as bundled provider for the city's $235 million 457 plan, confirmed Arturo Alfaro, the city's treasurer.
The firm replaces Great-West Retirement Services, which was allowed to rebid. In an interview, Mr. Alfaro said the city didn't have any dispute with Great-West. He said ING was in a “neck-and-neck” contest with Great-West but won out because ING had better investment options.
Mr. Alfaro said the city hasn't decided on how many investment options will be available through ING, but he said participants will have at least the 20 choices now offered by Great-West.
ING begins in October. An RFP was issued about 10 months ago.
CalPERS commits to Riverwood, Blackstone
California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, committed $150 million to Riverwood Capital Partners and $250 million to Blackstone/GSO Capital Solutions fund, according to the $201.9 billion fund's investment committee agenda June 14.
Riverwood Capital is a globally focused private equity firm that invests in high-growth businesses in the technology and services industries. Blackstone/GSO Capital is a distressed debt fund.
Dreman gets subadviser call from DWS
DWS Investments hired Dreman Value Management as subadviser for its $41 million international value fund, confirmed Steven Noll, a product specialist with DWS.
Dreman portfolio manager and co-CIO Cliff Hoover assumed management of the fund, which will be rebranded as the DWS Dreman International Value Fund. He replaces a team of DWS managers, including Klaus Kaldemorgen, DWS head of global equities, and Hansjoerg Pack, a director. Messrs. Kaldemorgen and Pack will continue to manage other funds for DWS, said spokesman Lem Brewster.
DWS Investments is the retail arm of Deutsche Asset Management.
Florida Prepaid hires Northern Trust, Standish Mellon
Florida Prepaid College Board, Tallahassee, hired Northern Trust Investments and Standish Mellon Asset Management, and rehired Columbia Management Investment Advisers to manage $1.73 billion each in a liability-driven fixed-income strategy, according to Susan James, FPCB director of external affairs.
On July 1, the managers will join Neuberger Berman, which also was hired to run $1.73 billion in the same strategy. Together, the managers will handle 25% each of the $8.7 billion plan's $6.9 billion in fixed income.
BlackRock Financial Management, which will be dropped, and Columbia now manage the fixed-income strategy. Both their contracts expire June 30.
Callan Associates assisted in the search, Ms. James said. Further information was not available.
Guotai to use State Street as global custodian
Guotai Asset Management hired State Street Corp. as global custodian and trading service provider for the Guotai Nasdaq-100 index fund.
The fund is under China's qualified domestic institutional investor program, through which Chinese investors can invest in foreign capital markets. Earlier this year, Guotai Asset Management received a $700 million investment quota under QDII.
SSgA, PIMCO get nod from Illinois university system
Illinois State Universities Retirement System, Champaign, hired SSgA and retained PIMCO for fixed income, while the system evaluates proposals from 96 managers in an overall search to manage its restructured $3.2 billion bond portfolio, said Daniel L. Allen, chief investment officer.
No assets have yet been assigned to the two managers. The $12.6 billion system could assign SSgA $400 million to $700 million in a Barclays Capital Aggregate index fund, the system's first investment in a fixed-income index fund, Mr. Allen said. PIMCO runs $823 million in a core-plus strategy. “We feel PIMCO has done a really good job,” he said.
The two firms were appointed because the system looked first at passive strategies. Other hirings, assignment amounts and any terminations will be discussed at the system's Sept. 2 investment committee meeting and possibly at a special meeting it could call in October, Mr. Allen said.
The system is no longer accepting proposals, he added.
The board is restructuring its fixed-income allocation, in part, to deal with the economic environment following the market turbulence of the last two years.
LACERS commits up to $15 million in PE, sticks with Neuberger
Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System committed up to $15 million to Polaris Venture Partners VI. Hamilton Lane made the commitment under its discretionary mandate with the system.
Separately, the $9.7 billion system renewed Neuberger Berman, which manages $990 million in active fixed income, and extended for two years the contracts of private equity consultant Hamilton Lane and specialized alternative investment consultant Pension Consulting Alliance, Juan Garcia, spokesman, wrote in an e-mail response to inquiries.
Port of London hires JPMAM, Prisma
Port of London Authority Pension Fund, Gravesend, England, hired J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Prisma Capital Partners to run £25 million ($37 million) each in hedge funds of funds, confirmed Bill Bean, manager of the £250 million fund.
It is the pension fund's first investment in hedge funds of funds.
Funding comes from reducing a U.K. bond fund run by AXA Investment Managers; AXA continues to run £155 million.
The move was made as a way to boost returns following a triennial asset-liability study conducted by Aon Consulting.
Newton gets mandate from University of London plan
Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London hired Newton Investment Management as a real return manager, Newton spokeswoman Vee Montebello confirmed.
Ms. Montebello could not provide additional information. Penny Green, CEO of the £1 billion ($1.48 billion) plan, was out of the office and could not be reached for further details.
New Mexico plan hires Lord Abbett for small/midcap
New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, Santa Fe, hired Lord Abbett to run $90 million in small/midcap value equities, said Bob Jacksha, chief investment officer of the $8.6 billion system.
Funding came from terminating Rothschild, which managed $175 million in small-cap value equity, for performance reasons, he said.
The rest of the assets managed by Rothschild were distributed across other asset classes in accordance with the system's asset allocation.
Rothschild executives do not comment on client related matters, per company policy, said Bill Grau, marketing manager.
San Bernardino commits to domestic long-short equity
San Bernardino County (Calif.) Employees' Retirement Association committed $25 million each to three domestic long-short equity managers, said Don Pierce, investment officer of the $5 billion fund.
Hired were Select Equity LaFayette Street Fund, Clough Capital Partners and CastleRock Partners.
NEPC assisted.
BlackRock gets $150 million from San Diego plan
San Diego County Employees Retirement Association committed $115 million to the BlackRock Global Ascent Fund and the $35 million to BlackRock's Emerging Markets Macro Fund.
Funding for the two hedge funds would come from the $7 billion association's target 70% stable value allocation.
The board also added SSgA to its preapproved list of derivatives and futures managers. Mr. Partridge and his firm, Integrity Capital, and association staff can hire SSgA “to replicate the exposure of any policy benchmark.”
A memo attached to the agenda said there was no need to put a dollar limit on exposure. SSgA would be limited to an expected 30-basis-point tracking error.
Skandia picks Old Mutual as subadviser for U.K. equities
Skandia Investment Group hired Old Mutual Asset Managers to subadvise £95 million ($147 million) in midcap U.K. equities, confirmed Skandia spokesman John Morgan.
The mandate previously was run in large-cap U.K. equities by Mirabaud. “We continue to rate Mirabaud highly; however, their large-cap focus did not suit our desire to have a dedicated midcap mandate for use in our portfolios,” Ryan Hughes, senior fund manager at Skandia, said in a news release.
The assets come from retail funds managed by Skandia; Mr. Morgan said Skandia and OMAM are both owned by Old Mutual PLC.
Permal to subadvise for Strategic Investments Group
Strategic Investments Group hired Permal Group as subadviser of its Active Trading Fund, launched last month with $250 million from European institutional investors, said Soha Galawy, spokeswoman for SIG.
Deutsche Bank collaborated in fund design and is conducting ongoing risk monitoring; State Street Corp. is the fund's custodian and fund services provider.
Transamerica using AllianceBernstein as subadviser
Transamerica Asset Management hired AllianceBernstein as subadviser for a new mutual fund, according to a Transamerica SEC filing.
The new portfolio — the Transamerica AllianceBernstein Dynamic Allocation Variable Portfolio — replaces the Transamerica Convertible Securities Variable Portfolio.
Transamerica Investment Management, an affiliate of Transamerica Asset Management, had managed the convertible securities strategy. John K. Carter, president and CEO of Transamerica Asset Management, in an e-mail response to questions, didn't provide information on why Transamerica Investment Management was replaced or why the portfolio's approach was changed.
Eddie J. Arias, Transamerica's director of communications and product development, declined to comment on the assets in the existing portfolio.
VRS commits $100 million to Lion Industrial fund
The $49 billion Virginia Retirement System, Richmond, committed $100 million to Lion Industrial Trust Preferred, a commingled real estate fund.
