Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System, Des Moines, issued an RFP for core and core-plus fixed-income managers to run $1 billion.
Triggering the search were organizational changes at Pacific Investment Management Co. with the departures of William H. Gross, chief investment officer, last month and Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and co-chief investment officer, earlier this year.
“The RFP is being issued to search for a possible replacement manager (or managers) for PIMCO’s $1.3 billion core-plus fixed-income account,” Karl Koch, the pension fund’s chief investment officer, said in an e-mail. “PIMCO could be replaced or have its assets reduced, depending on the results of the search. PIMCO will continue to manage the assets in the account until the search is completed.”
Wilshire Associates, IPERS’ investment consultant, is assisting in the search.
Iowa PERS, which oversees $28 billion, could hire one or more managers. The total amount allocated as a result of the search “could vary depending on the number of managers hired,” according to the RFP, which is available on the pension fund’s website or on Wilshire’s website.
Proposals are due Dec. 8. IPERS expects to announce selections April 3.
Iowa PERS put PIMCO on watch in January following notice of Mr. El-Erian’s departure and began “evaluating several possible courses of action” following Mr. Gross’s departure in September.
