Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, Columbus, hired AQR Capital Management to run $300 million in global tactical asset allocation strategies, confirmed spokesman Michael Pramik.
The retirement system, which oversees $62.9 billion in defined benefit assets, issued an RFI in January following the board's approval of a new target allocation to global TAA of 2%.
In April, the pension fund hired Grantham Mayo von Otterloo, Pacific Investment Management Co., and Windhaven Investment Management as its first GTAA managers. The pension fund expects to add at least one more manager before the end of the year.
Separately, the pension fund added $150 million to passive international equity manager J.O. Hambro Capital Management, giving it a total of $750 million; and added $25 million each to existing active emerging markets equity managers Baillie Gifford & Co. and Oldfield Partners, giving them a total of $430 million and $140 million respectively.
Funding comes from reducing the portfolios of three active international developed markets small-cap equity managers. The pension fund reduced the portfolios of Franklin Templeton by $70 million, and AQR and Acadian Asset Management by $65 million each.
Franklin Templeton now runs $315 million; AQR, $290 million; and Acadian, $280 million.
The retirement system also made a direct investment of $100 million to JANA Nirvana Fund, a value-oriented, event-driven hedge fund managed by JANA Partners.
Also, the retirement system in May committed $125 million to Blue Water Energy Fund I, a buyout fund focused on global energy-related investments.
In its real estate portfolio, the retirement system added $125 million to a real estate portfolio managed by Emmes Asset Management. The manager's portfolio totaled $243 million as of Dec. 31.
