Chicago Public Schools is searching for firms to provide investment management, record keeping and communications services for its 403(b) and 457(b) tax-deferred compensation plans, whose combined assets total $1.54 billion.
The plans currently have four record keepers — Empower Retirement, MetLife, VALIC and Voya Retirement Services.
“We intend to reduce the number of administrative and record-keeping vendors, while offering a diversified menu of investment options to plan participants,” according to the RFP, which is available on the CPS’ procurement website.
CPS could hire more than one firm, the RFP states.
CPS seeks “an open architecture platform” that would “allow the CPS staff to control the selection of the investment options,” the RFP states. Proposals “must be able to offer investment options that include either group fixed annuity, group variable annuity, and mutual fund products, or a lineup consisting of only mutual funds.”
The RFP doesn’t provide further details on the streamlining of the plans’ investment structure.
The current record keepers offer some different and some overlapping investment options for the plans. The mutual fund managers of equity and fixed-income strategies offered by the plans include Ariel Investments, AllianceBernstein, American Century Investments, Artisan Partners Asset Management, Capital Group, Dreyfus, Fidelity Investments, Invesco, Keeley Asset Management, LM Capital Group, Lord Abbett, MFS Investment Management, Pacific Investment Management Co., State Street Global Advisors, SunAmerica Asset Management and Vanguard Group.
Proposals are due Sept. 15.
CPS spokesmen could not be reached for comment by press time.
