Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, Oak Brook, loosened its guidelines for approving bids from managers owned by minorities, women or people with disabilities when they are not the lowest bidders, according to Linda Horrell, communications manager.
The $24.7 billion “IMRF typically awards bids to the lowest cost vendor. However, bids may be awarded to a vendor other than the low bidder, if it is a vendor (owned by minorities, women or people with disabilities) and its bid is within 15%, previously 10%, or $10,000, whichever is lower, of the low bid,” Ms. Hornell wrote in an e-mail.
The IMRF “board approved the change in an effort to further increase our utilization of” such business vendors, she added in the e-mail.
In all, as of Sept. 30, managers owned by minorities, women or people with disabilities managed $4.4 billion or 18.8% of the IMRF assets, including $3.6 billion managed by those IMRF identifies as emerging managers, having between $10 million and $10 billion in total assets under management, according to a report to Gov. Pat Quinn.
Such emerging managers managed a combined 13.7% of IMRF's equities, 21.3% of its fixed income and 5.6% of its alternative investments, as of last Sept. 30, according to the IMRF report.
IMRF targets such emerging managers to manage 10% to 12% of equities, 15% to 20% of fixed income and 5% to 10% of alternative investments, according to its policy statement.
