TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The nearly $52 billion Florida State Board of Administration plans to boost its exposure to alternative equities within the next six months, said Ash Williams Jr., executive director.
The board has about $750 million invested in alternative equity now and has not yet set a target on how much it wants to increase its allocation, Mr. Williams said.
The board recently hired an executive to analyze the area and write an investment policy on the asset class, he said.
Cash flow will be used to fund the increase.
Fine-tuning may result
from Kern County study
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The $1 billion Kern County Employees' Retirement Association plans to have Wilshire Associates do an asset allocation study that should be completed in July.
The plan may fine-tune its asset allocation, following a number of changes last year, including the acceptance of $277 million in pension obligation bond money that was distributed among its current money managers. The asset allocation study will follow an asset-liability study now under way.
Labor Department grants
class exemption
WASHINGTON - The Labor Department granted a long-awaited class exemption that will allow some pension funds to make investments even when certain technical legal violations arise.
The general exemption would allow plan sponsors with at least $250 million in assets (with $50 million under direct management of an in-house manager) to make certain transactions with party-in-interest service providers by using the in-house manager.
The in-house manager would need to be a registered investment adviser and would make all decisions concerning the technical transactions.
The class exemption also includes three specific exemptions. One allows the plan to lease up to 15% of office or commercial space it owns to the employer; the second allows the plan to rent residential space to the employees; and the third allows plans that own hotels or motels to allow a party-in-interest to the plan to stay there or to use the facility.
Oklahoma Teachers' fund
reviews policy, allocation
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Trustees of the $3.5 billion Oklahoma Teachers' Retirement System assigned new consultant Marquette Alliance a review of the system's investment policies and asset allocation, said Jo Witt, director-investment operations.
Ms. Witt said any money manager hirings or asset reallocations will be determined after Marquette's review is completed.
LG&E Energy to hire
4 managers soon
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The $210 million defined benefit plan of LG&E Energy Corp. is hiring international equity and domestic small-capitalization aggressive growth managers, said Richard Rutledge, financial analyst.
The fund plans to pick two international managers. One would have an active mandate from countries covered in the Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe Australasia Far East Index; the other would have an active EAFE mandate with an active emerging market component. The fund tentatively narrowed the search to two candidates for each category. It hopes to make a decision in May. In all, the fund plans to allocate 10% of its assets to the two.
The fund tentatively selected a small-cap manager; Mr. Rutledge declined to release the name pending board approval.
Assets will come from reducing its large-cap growth and value equity allocations to about 45% from approximately 65%; all managers will be retained.
LCG Associates is assisting.
Russell stock indexes
hit new highs
TACOMA, Wash. - Frank Russell Co.'s domestic stock indexes reached record highs during the first quarter of 1996, with large-cap stocks outperforming small-cap issues.
The Russell 1000, the large-cap index, returned 5.51% for the quarter ended March 31; the small-cap Russell 2000, 5.14%; and the Russell 3000, which measures the broad market, 5.47%.
Growth and value stocks performed equally well during the quarter, with growth leading in January and February and value stocks gaining later, according to Russell.
Credit Suisse operation
moved to BEA Associates
NEW YORK - BEA Associates absorbed the London-based operations and staff of its sister company Credit Suisse Investment Management, in a move BEA officials say is meant to create a large global multiproduct manager by nearly doubling BEA's assets.
The firm will operate as BEA in the United States, and as CSIM in London. Robert Parker will continue to head CSIM in London and will join BEA's executive committee, while BEA CFO Daniel Sigg will join CSIM's steering committee.
CSIM senior professionals will also have equity ownership in the combined company.
CS Holdings, Zurich, the holding company for both firms, chose BEA as its money management flagship last year, when it folded the U.S. operations of its CS First Boston Investment Management subsidiary into BEA.
Currency overlay manager
is sold to UAM
BOSTON - United Asset Management has reached agreement to acquire OSV Partners from its management and Oechsle International Advisors.
Terms were not disclosed.
OSV manages $1 billion in active currency overlays; it has offices in Frankfurt and Boston.
It will continue to operate under its own name and its management will remain after the closing, which is expected sometime this month.
This is UAM's eighth acquisition of an international investment manager.
Judge rebuffs attempt
to raid fund
NEW YORK - A state appeals court judge rebuffed New York Gov. George Pataki's $230 million raid of the New York State and Local Retirement System to balance the fiscal 1996 budget.
New York Comptroller H. Carl McCall sued the governor and the New York Legislature last year, when they tried to use a supplemental retirement fund to balance the budget.
The appellate court ruled the supplemental reserve fund is "indisputably an asset of the retirement system."
