Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, Columbus, is searching for three to five managers to run at least $200 million each in global tactical asset allocation strategies.
The search is the result of a new allocation to global TAA approved by the board of the $76.4 billion retirement system at its meeting on Wednesday as part of its investment plan for 2013, confirmed spokesman Michael Pramik.
The target allocation to GTAA is 2% for the retirement system's pension fund.
The RFI is available from the fund's website. Proposals are due at 5 p.m. EST on Jan. 25. Mr. Pramik wrote in an e-mail that the retirement system expects new managers to be funded by April 1.
Also, the board approved a new target allocation of 2% to risk parity, which was previously part of the retirement system's 1.6% target allocation to opportunistic strategies. Within the opportunistic allocation, the risk parity target was 0.5%.
As part of the increase in risk parity, the retirement system plans to make additional allocations to existing managers and up to $175 million in internally managed risk-parity portfolios with internal operating and trading capabilities.
The opportunistic target allocation remains at 1.6%.
The board also created allocations to Treasury inflation-protected securities and commodities of 1% each. Both will be internally managed.
Target allocations decreased as a result of those changes were domestic equities, 20% from 21%; international equities, to 22.5% from 24%; and core fixed income, 10% from 13%.
The retirement system also eliminated its target allocation to internal investment-grade credit, which previously had a target allocation of 0.5%.
Additionally, as part of the investment plan, the retirement system announced a new initiative to create an internally managed domestic small-cap equity tilt portfolio.
Also, the retirement system hired Oberweis Asset Management to run $100 million in active domestic small-cap growth equities. The manager replaces Sparta Asset Management, which ceased operations in 2012.
Investment consultant NEPC is assisting.
Separately, the retirement system also made six follow-on direct hedge fund investments totaling $285 million: $100 million to Davidson Kempner Institutional Partners, bringing its total commitment to $160 million; $50 million each to Scopia PX and Third Point Partners Qualified, bringing their totals to $150 million each; $35 million to Canyon Value Realization Fund, for a total of $155 million; $25 million to York Capital Management, for a total of $165 million; and $25 million to Visium Balanced Fund, for a total of $125 million.
The follow-on investments bring the retirement system's total direct hedge fund investments to $3.5 billion.
Hedge fund consultant Aksia assisted.
