Los Angeles Water & Power Employees’ Retirement Plan hired Wellington Management to run an active emerging markets equity portfolio, recently released board meeting minutes said.
The $9.5 billion pension fund issued an RFP in November due to concerns with current manager Vontobel Asset Management, which ran a $214 million portfolio as of Feb. 29, according to an investment report.
The concerns at the time were regarding the firm’s “rapid increase” in assets under management, average market capitalization in the strategy and the fact that co-CEO and CIO Rajiv Jain oversaw 76% of the firm’s assets, creating a “key-man” risk, according to a board resolution. Mr. Jain has since announced his intention to leave the firm in May.
Vontobel is still under contract. Whether the firm will now be terminated, and how much Wellington will run, could not be learned by press time. The firm is under contract until Oct. 31, 2018.
Other finalists were ClariVest Asset Management, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and RBC Global Asset Management.
Investment consultant RVK assisted.
Carlo Manjikian, senior investment officer, could not be immediately reached to provide further information.
