Merced County (Calif.) Employees’ Retirement Association will search for a custodian in the coming months, said Darlene Ingersoll, chair of the board of trustees, in an e-mail.
The $666 million pension fund’s board approved issuing an RFP at its June 9 meeting due to the pending contract expiration of current custodian Bank of New York Mellon Corp., which is invited to rebid.
A timetable for the RFP has yet to be determined. It will be posted on the county’s website.
Separately, the pension fund put active international equity managers Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. and EARNEST Partners on watch for underperformance. The managers run portfolios of $52 million and $39 million, respectively. Investment consultant Verus Advisory will present potential replacement managers at a future board meeting. Ms. Ingersoll did not have further information by press time.
GMO spokesman Tucker Hewes said the firm declined to comment, and EARNEST Partners chief of staff and director Becky Do could not be immediately reached to provide comment.
