Knoxville (Tenn.) City Employees' Pension Fund hired William Blair & Co. to run $15 million in active domestic value equities, confirmed Michael A. Cherry, executive director.
The $490 million pension fund conducted an invitation-only search earlier this year because current small-cap manager AQR Capital Management is a quantitative manager, and the fund wanted to go in a more fundamental direction, said Mr. Cherry in a telephone interview.
William Blair will run small and midcap stocks in the portfolio, likely leaning more toward small caps, Mr. Cherry said.
Other finalists were Aronson + Johnson + Ortiz, Integrity Asset Management and WEDGE Capital Management.
Investment consultant Summit Strategies Group assisted.
Separately, Mr. Cherry said he is retiring from the pension fund at the end of the year. He has been executive director since March 1997. The fund is searching for his replacement and hopes to have someone in place by Sept. 1 for a smooth transition, said Mr. Cherry.
