Irving (Texas) Firemen's Relief and Retirement Fund is conducting an invitation-only search for an active domestic large-cap equity manager, Heidle Baskin, chairman of the board, confirmed in an e-mail.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, the consultant for the $125 million retirement fund, is conducting the search.
Funding will come from the termination of Manning & Napier's all-cap equity strategy for performance. Mr. Baskin did not respond to follow-up questions by press time on how much money the selected firm will run or why Manning & Napier was terminated.
Nicole Kingsley Brunner, spokeswoman for Manning & Napier, said it is company policy not to comment on client activity.
Separately, the pension fund made a direct investment of 5% of plan assets, or about $6 million, in Millennium Partners, a multistrategy hedge fund managed by Millennium management. Funding will come from equities, Mr. Baskin said; he wouldn't elaborate.