At Deadline: May 2, 2011

Boeing expects to contribute $500 million in cash to its pension plans this year, while Sprint Nextel contributed $100 million during the first quarter and expects to contribute an additional $35 million this year.

Last year, Boeing contributed $35 million. The Boeing plans had $49.2 billion in assets and $59.1 billion in liabilities as of Dec. 31, according to its 10-K filing.

Sprint's defined benefit plan was frozen for benefit accruals as of Dec. 31, 2005, according to the company's 2010 10-K. The company states in its annual report that the fair value of plan assets as of Dec. 31 was $1.3 billion with fair value of benefit obligations of $1.9 billion.

Sprint's total U.S. and non-U.S. pension assets were $354.6 million and its projected benefit obligations were $514.4 million as of Dec. 31, according to its 10-K report.

PolyOne Corp. will move to a mark-to-market basis for all its pension accounting, immediately recognizing actuarial gains or losses on its pension plan in the year they occur instead of its current method of amortizing them over many years, the company announced April 28.

PolyOne's total U.S. and non-U.S. pension assets were $354.6 million and its projected benefit obligations were $514.4 million as of Dec. 31, according to its 10-K report. U.S. plans account for the majority of PolyOne's pension assets and liabilities, a spokeswoman said.

Historically, PolyOne generally amortized actuarial pension gains and losses into its operating results “over the average remaining life of the plan participants for the majority of its U.S. and foreign benefit plans and over the remaining service period of plan participants for certain non-U.S. benefit plans,” a company statement said.

PolyOne's U.S. pension plans are closed to new participants and benefits are frozen for employees still participating in them, the statement said.

M. Timothy Corbett, CIO of the $26 billion Connecticut Retirement Plans & Trust Funds, will resign May 20 to become executive vice president and CIO of Massachusetts Mutual Life.

Mr. Corbett “will be responsible for MassMutual's overall investment strategy, as well as oversight of the company's general investment account,” a MassMutual news release said. Thomas M. Finke, chairman and CEO of MassMutual subsidiary Babson Capital Management, has been CIO of MassMutual as well, the release said.

At the Connecticut fund, Lee Ann Palladino was named interim CIO.

Ziegler Capital Management will acquire Lotsoff Capital Management, the firms announced April 27. Terms weren't disclosed.

The two firms will combine their operations under Ziegler Capital, Scott A. Roberts, president and CEO of Ziegler Capital, said in an interview. He will be president and CEO of the combined entity.

Ziegler has $2.6 billion in assets under management, consisting of $695 million in equity and $1.9 billion in fixed income. Lotsoff has $1.3 billion in assets under management, consisting of $488 million in equity, $769 million in fixed income and $28 million in alternatives or hedge funds.

Each firm's “products will stay the same and portfolio managers for those products will remain the same,” Mr. Roberts said. “We will combine the resources available to the portfolio managers and their teams. Client services and market teams will merge as one unit.”

Joseph N. Pappo, Lotsoff Capital CEO and senior portfolio manager for equity, “will continue to have a senior managing role and be managing director and senior portfolio manager on the equity side” at Ziegler, Mr. Roberts said.

Donald W. Reid, Lotsoff chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager, will become co-CIO of the equity group at Ziegler with Donald J. Nesbitt, currently the Ziegler equity group CIO. Paula Horn will remain CIO of fixed income at Ziegler.

Seymour N. Lotsoff, founder of Lotsoff Capital and adviser, and Mark S. Levey, also a Lotsoff adviser, are expected to continue their advisory roles at Ziegler, Mr. Roberts said.

The firms expect all their employees to remain with the combined entity, Mr. Roberts said.

Lotsoff is owned by its management, which is expected to have a stake in Ziegler Capital, Mr. Roberts said.

Ziegler is owned 49% by B. C. Ziegler & Co., an investment banking and financial services firm; 41% by Rizvi Traverse Management, a private equity firm; and 10% by its employees, Mr. Roberts said.

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo directed the state Insurance Department to issue permanent regulations banning placement agents, lobbyists and elected officials from doing any business with the $140.6 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, according to Bloomberg.

The regulations also will end “revolving door” employment of former pension fund officials at firms that do business with the retirement plan, and would bar firms that directly or indirectly make campaign donations, charitable contributions or gifts to the comptroller, according to a news release from Mr. Cuomo's office.

Previously, the Insurance Department had issued temporary regulations banning pay-to-play at the state fund. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the sole trustee of the pension fund who originally banned placement agents in 2009, said in a statement that he welcomed the regulations.

The order follows the April 15 sentencing of former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who will spend up to four years in prison for giving preferential treatment to Markstone Capital Partners in exchange for almost $1 million in gifts.

A handful of senior executives at Old Mutual Asset Management will be leaving the firm soon, as Peter Bain, new president and CEO, moves to revamp the holding company's strategy, according to sources who declined to be named.

Those departing are Matthew J. Appelstein, executive vice president and head of global distribution; C. Christopher Herman, head of product and marketing; and Stephen Clarke and Dennis Chandler, senior vice presidents and relationship managers. James E. Mikolaichik, executive vice president and head of strategy, meanwhile, will be leaving within a few months, they said.

Reached by telephone, a spokesman for the firm provided the following statement: “OMAM will not comment on specific personnel issues at this time. ... Peter Bain was brought on as CEO in February to help OMAM grow, and the company will be sharing more about Peter's vision in the coming weeks.”

Mr. Appelstein couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Efforts to reach Messrs. Herman and Mikolaichik were unsuccessful.

The Oregon Investment Council committed $100 million each to the Brazil Real Estate Opportunities Fund II, managed by Vision Brazil Investments, and TPG Specialty Lending, said spokesman James Sinks.

The Brazil fund has a $500 million target and is expected to invest in office, industrial and retail as well as development projects in Brazil, according to materials from the board's April 27 meeting.

TPG Specialty Lending is a private business development company that will make loans to middle-market companies. TPG Specialty is raising $800 million to $1 billion in capital; its structure will allow the company to go public at a later time, according to a memo to the council from its private equity consultant PCG Asset Management.

The council manages the $58.8 billion Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, Salem.