Oklahoma Teachers' Retirement System, Oklahoma City, hired Northern Trust Asset Management to manage about $1.48 billion combined in factor-based index and cap-weighted index portfolios, said Tom Spencer, executive director of the $15.8 billion pension fund, in an email.
Northern Trust will manage $885 million in an ERI Scientific Beta's Multi-Beta Multi-strategy Six Factor Equal Weight index portfolio and $590 million in a cap-weighted Russell 1000 index account.
An RFP for one passive equity manager was issued in the spring. Previously, Northern Trust managed a little more than $900 million in a cap-weighted S&P 500 index fund and State Street Global Advisors managed about $225 million in an equal-weighted S&P 500 index, both of which are being eliminated.
Along with Northern Trust, the other finalists were BlackRock and RhumbLine Advisers. SSGA did rebid.
In conjunction with index changes, the pension fund board approved a new target allocation for its $5.9 billion U.S. equity portfolio — 75% in traditional active management, 15% in a factor-based index and 10% in cap-weighted index. It had been 80% in active management and 20% in cap-weighted and equal-weighted indexes, previously.
Further U.S. equity searches or terminations are not being contemplated at this time, Mr. Spencer said.