LOS ANGELES -- Atlantic Richfield Co. cut 70% of its in-house investment management staff after eliminating internal management of domestic equities and some international equities, confirmed Jeff Anderson, controller.
Mr. Anderson would not say how many people were let go, or whether they obtained other jobs within the company.
One of those no longer with the company is Richard Steenken, who was director of domestic equities at ARCO Investment Management Co.
ARCO Investment Management lost about two-thirds of the assets it had been managing for the pension fund. As of Sept. 30, the in-house subsidiary managed $942 million for the pension fund, down from $1.8 billion a year earlier, according to the company's response to Pensions & Investments' annual survey of the nation's largest pension funds.
Mr. Anderson would not say what has been done with the money.
Rene Goupillaud, director of outside investments at ARCO Investment Management, declined to speak on the record.
Beverly Hamilton, president and chief investment officer at ARCO Investment, referred all calls to Mr. Goupillaud. Several former executives also declined to comment.
But consultants said ARCO's recent corporate downsizing probably was responsible for the reduction in overall fund assets and the decision to stop internal management of some of the assets.
Atlantic Richfield's total employee benefit assets dropped 15% to $4.341 billion as of Sept. 30.
Defined benefit assets plunged 19% to $2.541 billion; defined contribution assets dropped 10% to $1.8 billion.
Hal W. Reynolds is vice president and principal with the consulting division of Wilshire Associates Inc., Santa Monica, Calif. Although he doesn't work with the ARCO fund, Mr. Reynolds noted that the smaller a pension fund is, the more difficult it is, from a cost standpoint, to internally manage the assets.
ARCO has been downsizing for several months. Most recently, the company sold off ARCO Chemical to a former subsidiary, Lyondell Petrochemical Co.
Earlier in 1998, Atlantic Richfield also sold its domestic coal operations and its interest in ARCO Chemical, while acquiring Union Texas Petroleum Co.
In addition, ARCO Jan. 15 bumped up its announced job cuts to 1,200 employees from the 900 layoffs announced in October.
