Updated with correction
Kentucky Retirement Systems, Frankfort, hired Geneva Capital Management, Systematic Financial Management and Sasco Capital to manage a total of $545 million in active domestic midcap equity portfolios, confirmed T.J. Carlson, chief investment officer.
Geneva will run $275 million in a growth strategy; Systematic, $215 million in value; and Sasco, $55 million in deep value.
The hirings are the first for the $13.6 billion retirement system with each of the managers. Funding comes from liquidating an internally managed midcap ETF.
R.V. Kuhns, general investment consultant to the pension fund, assisted. An invitation-only search was initiated in February.
The retirement system's board also committed $50 million to Wayzata Opportunities Fund III, a distressed debt fund managed by Wayzata Investment Partners, and $40 million to Harvest Partners VI, a buyout fund. The retirement system previously committed $75 million to each of the first two Wayzata funds and $40 million to Harvest Partners V, Mr. Carlson said in a telephone interview.
Altius Associates, the pension plan's private equity consultant, assisted.
Separately, the board approved searches for its first absolute-return/real-return consultant and master custodian. The consultant RFP should be issued by the end of June, Mr. Carlson said. An RFP for custodian will likely be issued sometime in the third quarter; incumbent Northern Trust can rebid.
Also, the board terminated Artio Global Investors, which ran $260 million in active international equities. Mr. Carlson cited performance and corporate uncertainty as Artio is “losing a lot of assets.”
Neil Shapiro, Artio spokesman, said the firm did not have any comment on the termination.
Artio's assets were parked in a BlackRock MSCI ACWI ex-US index fund, increasing it to $535 million.
Mr. Carlson said the board will review its non-U.S. equity strategy within the next year to decide what to do with Artio's assets on a long-term basis.
