The California Department of Personnel Administration, Sacramento, may conduct a search in the next few months for a vendor to add a brokerage option to its $3 billion Savings Plus Program, which includes 401(k) and 457 plans covering state employees, said John Kozusko, administrator of the Savings Plus program. A decision on the search may be made in 30 days.
Meanwhile, the department hired Pacific Alliance Capital and T. Rowe Price to offer investment options for the program. Pacific Alliance's Stepstone Value Momentum Fund was chosen as a conservative equity option replacing Putnam's Growth and Income Fund; T. Rowe Price's New Horizons Fund replaced Delaware's DelCap Fund as an aggressive equity option.
The changes were a result of a periodic five-year review. William M. Mercer assisted.
Metropolitan Life Insurance is consolidating its international and real estate asset management subsidiaries under its State Street Research & Management subsidiary, following last year's merger of its fixed-income subsidiary Met Life Investment Management with State Street Research.
Global Funds Management, a London subsidiary that manages about $1.3 billion in international equity and fixed income, will be merged sometime in the next month, said Ralph Verni, president and chief executive officer of State Street Research. Its fixed-income staff will be merged with State Street Research's existing fixed-income department, while the equity staffers will become an international equity team within the firm; both teams will remain in London.
Met Life's real estate subsidiaries, Met Life Realty and Metric Real Estate, will be brought together in late March or early April. The resulting subsidiary, which will manage about $3 billion, will remain a separate business entity.
SEARCHES & HIRINGS
State of Wyoming Farm Loan Board, Cheyenne, is looking for equity managers and a commission recapture firm for its $3.2 billion fund.
Trustees will choose a value equity manager and a commission recapture firm after interviews at its April meeting. A decision on growth equity managers would follow at the board's May meeting. A list of finalists is expected in March. Both equity firms are likely to split about $100 million, said Steven Degenfelder, deputy director. The firms will manage the fund's first equity investments, following the passage of a referendum in November allowing the fund to invest up to 25% of total assets in equities. R.V. Kuhns & Associates is assisting.
Rhode Island State Investment Commission, Providence, hired Schroder Capital Management International as the $4.7 billion pension fund's first emerging markets manager. Schroder will handle almost $100 million. It already manages $244 million in a European-region equity portfolio for the fund, said Steve Klamkin, spokesman.
Other finalists were Montgomery Asset Management and State Street Global. Wilshire Associates assisted.
Lilly Industries, Indianapolis, hired Washington Square Advisers to manage fixed income for its $83 million defined benefit plan. Washington Square will get at least a portion of $12 million. Greg Brown, audit and tax manager, declined to give the exact amount or say if Washington Square was replacing a terminated manager.
The plan has 40% in fixed income. Oxford Financial Advisors assisted.
New York State Teachers' Retirement System, Albany, committed $25 million to Mesirow Capital Partners VII, said Candace Ronesi, a spokeswoman for the $55 billion fund. Mesirow VII will make later-stage private equity investments and participate in management buy-outs, said Ms. Ronesi.
The investment was funded from cash.
The Investment Research Institute, Cincinnati, chose Fifth Third Investment Advisors as bundled provider to start a 401(k) plan for its 80 employees. Fifth Third will provide investment options, record keeping, a voice-response system, participant communications and education. The search was done in-house.
WHO'S NEWS
Joe H. Wright Jr. has taken over management responsibility for the $2.7 billion J.C. Penney Co. pension plan and the $4.5 billion 401(k) plan. Mr. Wright replaced William H. Baxley III, who was named head of risk management activities at J.C. Penney, Plano, Texas. Mr. Wright has spent the last five years in the J.C. Penney corporate real estate and finance departments.
Marcy Winson joined Investment Advisers as a vice president and fixed income portfolio manager, a new position. She will manage mortgage-backed securities. She was most recently a mortgage-backed securities analyst at Piper Capital Management, where a spokeswoman said she will not be replaced