Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System, Baton Rouge, hired Todd Asset Management to run $80 million in active international equities, said recently released board meeting minutes.
The $1.8 billion pension fund conducted an invitation-only search late in 2014 after changing the structure of its international equity portfolio to a “core-satellite” approach from “kind of a grab-bag allocation,” Christopher Saik, chief investment officer, said in a telephone interview in January.
Funding comes in part from the termination of EARNEST Partners from a $60 million active international core equity portfolio, due to the change in overall portfolio structure, and also the termination in September of Thornburg Investment Management from its $80 million portfolio, due to underperformance. Thornburg spokeswoman Rebecca Carrier said at the time that the company does not comment on client decisions.
Assets are parked in an EAFE index fund managed by Mellon Capital Management; the remaining $60 million will remain in that fund as part of the core-satellite structure.
Other finalists were Dodge & Cox and Franklin Templeton Institutional Investments.
Investment consultant Segal Rogerscasey assisted.
Phone calls to Mr. Saik were not returned by press time.
