State Street Bank today announced a 50/50 joint venture with Mansion House Group of Hong Kong to provide asset management and mutual fund services in Hong Kong, China and the region.
Nicholas A. Lopardo, chairman and CEO of State Street Global Advisors, will be chairman of the new firm, called State Street Mansion House Investment Management Services. Evans C. Lowe, chairman and CEO of Mansion House Group, will be vice chairman.
Mansion House is active in stock brokerage, asset management and direct investment in China. Mansion House will provide investment and administrative services.
New York Common Retirement Fund, Albany, paid $32 million for First Union Plaza, the largest single office property transaction in the Raleigh/ Durham/Chapel Hill, N.C., area, according to Marcus & Millichap Commercial Real Estate Investment Brokerage.
The $88 billion pension fund paid more than $136 per square foot for the 235,000-square-foot building. The fund was represented by Jones Lang Wootton Realty Advisors.
Avatar Associates moved its equity allocation to 80% stocks and is planning to raise it to 85% soon for its equity-cash TAA portfolios, said Edward S. Babbitt Jr., president.
Avatar, which runs $2.6 billion in its equity-cash TAA strategy, had the allocation at 50% equities in mid-April and 70% equities in late May. In its equity-bonds-cash TAA portfolios, for which it runs $1.5 billion, it is at 65% equities, 30% bonds and 5% cash. In April, that strategy was 30% equities.
Mr. Babbitt said rising interest rates would likely cause its model to reduce the equity positions.
Boston Partners Asset Management launched the Boston Partners MidCap Value Fund, its second mutual fund. The fund will invest at least 65% of assets in equities with capitalizations of $200 million to $4 billion. Wayne J. Archambo is the portfolio manager; he also runs the firm's institutional small- and midcap value equity separate accounts. Counsellors Securities will distribute the fund; RBB Fund Inc. and PFPC Inc. will provide record-keeping and custodial services, respectively.
SEARCHES & HIRINGS
Virginia Tech Foundation, Blacksburg, Va., committed $12 million to a REIT managed by Cohen & Steers.
The $450 million foundation also terminated international small-cap manager Rowe Price-Fleming because fund executives believe the international small-cap equity market is underperforming. They plan on moving the $18 million portfolio to Templeton for large-cap international equity; Templeton already manages $21 million. Funding for the REIT will come from cash and from domestic large- and midcap equity managers; it will bring the fund's real estate allocation to 5% of total assets.
Also, fund executives are narrowing a list of domestic small-cap equity managers to handle 10% of assets. Final presentations are expected in mid-November.
Fish & Richardson P.C., Houston, hired American Century as bundled service provider for its $25 million 401(k) plan. American Century will provide record keeping, communications and 12 investment funds. The plan also will offer self-directed brokerage through Charles Schwab. Fund officials declined to name the previous service providers.
Ferris State University and the Ferris Foundation, Big Rapids, Mich., hired Fund Evaluation Group as its first investment consultant, confirmed a university spokeswoman. Fund Evaluation Group is in the initial stages of studying the endowment's asset allocation, its investment guidelines and its procedures for selecting and monitoring money managers, said Christopher Meyer, vice president.
The endowment has about $9 million, according to The Money Market Directory.
CORRECTION: P&I Daily incorrectly reported June 20 that TPK Asset Management was terminated by the Hampton Roads Shipping Association-International Longshoremen's Association. The pension fund reduced its position with the money manager.
WHO'S NEWS
F. Graham Main has joined Polaris Investment Partners in the new position of vice president-investments. He will be responsible for sales and marketing focusing on the southeastern United States. Mr. Main previously was an outside marketing specialist for McKinley Capital Management.
Gregory J. Allison was named vice president and national sales manager for retirement plans at Mutual of Omaha, a new position. He will add new sales and customer service representatives in 20 of the company's 26 offices to facilitate the third quarter roll-out of a new bundled service for 401(k) plans.
Mr. Allison was group pension manager with Great-West Life & Annuity. Cathy Jacoby, a spokeswoman for Great-West, said the company will not comment
