Iowa Health System, West Des Moines, hired SEI as outsourced CIO for its $330 million defined benefit plan, confirmed spokeswoman Laura Sinnard.
This is the first time the plan has used a discretionary management approach. Stratford Advisory Group had been the pension plan's investment consultant.
The pension plan's investment committee decided to switch to an outsourced CIO so “they can focus more on strategic efforts by delegating items, such as individual investment manager selection, to the adviser through their manager-of-managers approach,” Ms. Sinnard wrote in an e-mail. “Additionally, a manager-of-managers approach would allow IHS a higher amount of diversification with less cost and a quicker response to opportunities in the market.”
The investment committee will still have final approval on asset allocation changes.
