TORONTO, Ontario - The C$35 million (U.S.$25 million) Beatrice Foods Inc. pension fund hired Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management to run C$26.5 million in a balanced fund of Canadian and U.S. securities, said Richard G. Jones, vice president-finance.
Funding came from two dropped balanced managers - AMI Partners, which ran C$20 million, and Managed Investments, which ran C$6.5 million. The fund's other manager, Gluskin Sheff & Associates, retained C$8.5 million in equities and was unaffected by the changes.
Wyatt Co. assisted in the searches.
CHICAGO - The $671 million Chicago Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund hired two small-cap equity managers and increased commitments to two existing international managers.
In small cap, Keeley Asset Management will run $20 million and Neuberger & Berman, $30 million. Funding came from closing large-cap equity portfolios run by Chicago Asset Management and American National Bank.
Trustees added small-cap firms following an asset allocation study that showed the fund's large-cap allocation was too great.
The Chicago Firemen's fund also acted to fill its increased allocation to international equity - to 16% from 10% - giving $44 million each to a commingled fund managed by J.P. Morgan Investment Management and a separate account run by Brandes Investment Management. Funding came from the portfolios run by American National and Chicago Asset, and a large-cap portfolio managed by Provident Investment Counsel. Mercer assisted.
CHICOPEE, Mass. - The more than $46 million Chicopee Contributory Retirement System hired Segal Advisors as consultant. Part of Segal's job will be to conduct a search for an international equities manager, said Ruth Corridan, executive director.
"We have never had a consultant before, but the board felt it would a wise move to (help) write up the RFPs and all that," Ms. Corridan said. The fund currently has about 55% of its assets in domestic equities, 40% in bonds and 5% in real estate.
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan - The C$1 billion (U.S.$710 million) Co-operative Superannuation Society hired James P. Marshall as consultant, pending contract signatures, said Larry D. Williams, general manager.
Marshall, the society's first retainer consultant, will do wide-ranging studies on investment policy, manager evaluation and, at some point, searches. Among the issues, the society wants to reassess having Co-operators Investment Counselling manage nearly all of the assets except for $55 million in foreign securities, which are run by Fleming Canada Partners and Sprucegrove Investment Management.
Even though CIC has a good performance record, Mr. Williams said, "We're getting big, the world's changing, we want to look at new areas; we think we should consider looking at specialty managers."
He said he expects Marshall to take most of the year to develop a new investment policy and to suggest changes.
CHICAGO - The $225 million pension fund of GATX Corp. made its first allocations to emerging market equities and global bonds following completion of an asset allocation study, said Michael Smiley, GATX's assistant treasurer, corporate finance.
J.P. Morgan will manage a portfolio that's a 50/50 mix between developed and emerging markets stocks. (Morgan also was hired for domestic fixed income.)
Also, Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo was hired for a broad international equities portfolio. And, a domestic fixed-income portfolio managed by Putnam Investments was converted to a global portfolio.
Account sizes weren't disclosed.
One fixed-income manager was terminated; the name wasn't disclosed.
BOSTON - The $11 million defined contribution plan for GeoEnvironmental Technologies Inc. selected Twentieth Century Services for record-keeping and investment services, a fund spokesman said.
Investment options are six Twentieth Century mutual funds and Bankers Trust's Capital Preservation Trust. The Charles Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account will be added at a later date.
Plan participants previously had a choice of several mutual funds and "books of securities managed by a broker," said Richard M. Simon, a spokesman for the fund. Record keeping formerly was provided by Accurecords.
ATLANTA - The $170 million defined benefit plan of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia hired GLOBALT to manage $10 million using a midcap equity style that concentrates on domestic equities with strong global exposure. Funding will come from cash flow.
AMES, a subsidiary of Alex. Brown Investment Management, was the consultant for the hire.
HERSHEY, Pa. - Hershey Entertainment and Resort Co. hired American Express Institutional Services to provide bundled services for its $7 million 401(k), including six mutual funds, daily record keeping and employee education.
Nate Douty, director of compensation and benefits, said Wyatt had been record keeper and four money managers he wouldn't identify handled the investment options.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The $12 billion Illinois Teachers' Retirement System hired four managers, reassigned one other and dropped another, said Robert Daniels, executive director.
For cash investments, the fund hired Atlantic Asset Management and Hotchkis & Wiley, assigning each $100 million. Funding came from reducing Harris Savings Bank & Trust, which retains $200 million. In small-cap stocks, the fund hired Lincoln Capital Management to run $50 million and Lazard Freres Asset Management to run $30 million. Funding came from dropping Holland Capital Management and from reducing the assignment to Ariel Capital Management, which retains $40 million in small caps.
In addition, it reassigned $100 million run by Bear Stearns Asset Management to global fixed income from domestic fixed income; Bear Stearns retains $150 million in domestic fixed income. Callan assisted.
BALTIMORE - The $16.5 billion Maryland State Retirement System made its first commitment to emerging markets, allocating 3% of assets and hiring two managers.
Strategic Investment Partners and Capital International each will manage $100 million. The fund may hire additional emerging markets managers later to reach the 3% target, said Arthur N. Caple Jr., chairman of the investment committee.
The fund conducted the manager search internally. The new hires will be funded from cash flow.
BOSTON - The $7.1 billion Massachusetts State Teachers' and Employees' Retirement System hired three managers to kick off its emerging managers team. The three will manage $100 million in core fixed income, said Joseph Craven, deputy treasurer. Danson & Neuhar will run $20 million; GW Capital, $40 million; and Income Research & Management, $40 million.
Candidates had to have less than $1 billion under management, be in business at least one year, and the principals had to have at least three years' experience.
YORK, Pa. - McCrory Stores hired Putnam Investments to provide bundled service for its $28 million 401(k) plan, said Shirlee Sanderson, director-human resources.
Putnam will provide six diversified mutual funds and three lifestyle, balanced funds. Putnam will also provide daily valued record keeping, voice response, trust, employee communication and investment education services.
Kwasha Lipton had been record keeper, and Fidelity had provided three investment options.
OTTAWA, Ontario - Making its first moves to the specialty areas, the C$5.5 billion ($3.9 billion) MD Management Ltd. family of mutual funds, which is a unit of the Canadian Medical Association, hired two managers for two new mutual funds, said Ronald P. Bannerman, vice president.
It hired Templeton Worldwide to run, under the direction of Mark Mobius, the new MD Emerging Markets Fund. Also, it hired Fischer Francis Trees & Watts to run the new MD Global Bond Fund.
Brockhouse & Cooper assisted in the searches.
The two new funds bring to 12 the number of MD mutual funds, which are available only to members of the Canadian Medical Association.
DALLAS - Metromedia Steakhouses Co. L.P. hired American Express Institutional Services to offer bundled services for its $18 million 401(k) plan.
Metromedia, which operates Ponderosa and Bonanza restaurants, will offer six investment options from the American Express family of funds, with daily valuation record keeping, trust, administration, employee education and communication and voice response services.
Society National Bank previously was the plan's record keeper and trustee, said Linda Farina, a company spokeswoman. Four investment options from multiple managers were offered in the old plan design.
NEW YORK - Olympia & York Equity Corp. moved the record keeping for its $8 million 401(k) plan to Stanwich Benefits Group from Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services. The plan's 10 investment options remained unchanged, said Joel Simon, chief financial officer, who did not identify the plan's money managers.
WARWICK, R.I. - The approximately $65 million Rhode Island Carpenters Pension Fund hired Segal Advisors as its investment consultant, said Phil Campana, administrator.
Segal will conduct an asset allocation study, and help the fund search for a balanced manager to replace Bear Stearns Asset Management, which was terminated because of performance, said Lawrence Marino, the Segal consultant to the plan.
Bear Stearns also was terminated as short-term bond manager by the Rhode Island Carpenters' $40 million annuity fund, Mr. Marino said. Bear Stearns managed $35 million for the pension fund, and $20 million for the annuity fund.
SAN FRANCISCO - The $6.2 billion San Francisco City & County Employees' Retirement System invested $15 million with Sprout Venture VII and $6 million with Knightsbridge Holdings II, both venture capital investments. The money for the alternative investments came from cash.
ROSEMONT, Ill. - The $12.7 billion Teamsters, Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund received government approval to hire a futures manager for an undisclosed amount, according to court documents.
Putnam Futures Advisors Inc. was approved by the court to manage an account of undisclosed size "composed wholly or substantially of futures contracts." According to federal court records, Putnam will seek to replicate the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index with futures contracts, forwards, swaps and options.
The account is designed to act as an inflation hedge, according to court documents. On an individual commodity basis, Putnam will be able to deviate up to 15% from the GSCI allocation. Putnam already manages about $700 million in five different portfolios for the fund.
Also, the fund hired as real estate managers Cohen & Steers Capital Management and Alex. Brown Kleinwort Benson, for undisclosed amounts.
Morgan Stanley, which acts as Central States' named fiduciary as a result of government lawsuits against the fund, conducted the hires.
LOS ANGELES - Union Bank named Bank of Tokyo Asset Management to subadvise a new international equity fund as part of its Stepstone Funds family. It also named SEI Financial Management as administrator, shareholder servicing agent and distributor for Stepstone. Previously, those duties were handled in-house.
At least 65% of the international equity fund's assets will be invested in securities of countries included in the EAFE index. The fund may invest up to 15% in over-the-counter securities.
Bank of Tokyo owns 70% of Union Bank's common stock.
RICHMOND, Va. - The Commonwealth of Virginia Deferred Compensation Plan completely revamped the administration and investment management of its more than $140 million 457(b) plan for 5,500 state employee participants.
Laura Pugliese, plan administrator, said the plan moved Feb. 1 to a daily valued, unbundled service approach in order to gain flexibility for changing investment managers or the record keeper if necessary in the future. A maturing contract with the previous record keeper prompted the RFP process and allowed the deferred compensation plan to move to a new program without the typical surrender charges imposed on 457 plan accounts, said Ms. Pugliese.
The Copeland Cos. is now the third-party administrator for the plan, offering daily valued record keeping, enrollment and marketing to participants, a voice-response system, and employee education and communications.
New investment options include a stable value fund managed by Metropolitan Life, Fidelity's Blue Chip Growth Equity Fund, Vanguard's Explorer and Total Bond Market Indexed Portfolio funds, and Merrill Lynch's Global Bond Fund. Two funds from Mellon Capital have been retained from the old plan design, the Daily Liquidity Equity Index Fund and a balanced fund; both funds will move to daily valuation from monthly.
The plan previously was quasi-bundled with record keeping and investment management offered by Mellon Bank on a monthly valued system. Some daily valued insurance separate accounts managed by Hartford Life Insurance also were offered, although they have not been actively marketed to participants since 1987.
OLD GREENWICH, Conn. - Wood Logan Cos. selected J.P. Morgan Investment Management to manage a new international growth and income portfolio. The International Growth & Income Portfolio will be available to investors through the North American Funds and the Venture and Venture Vision Annuities, fund families marketed by Wood Logan.
Up to 85% of the portfolio will be invested in equities of companies in developed markets. The remaining 15% will be invested in bonds of European and Japanese issuers.
