Chicago Firemen’s Annuity & Benefit Fund terminated Western Asset Management Co. from its $158 million active core-plus fixed-income portfolio.
The $1.3 billion pension fund’s board approved the termination at its Nov. 20 meeting, recently released meeting minutes showed.
The minutes did not provide a reason for the termination, but the manager has been terminated by a number of public pension funds over the past several months following WAMCO’s parent, Franklin Templeton, disclosing in August that the SEC had issued a Wells notice to co-CIO Ken Leech, identifying him as a target of an investigation focusing on “past trade allocations involving Treasury derivatives." Leech has since resigned and been charged by the agency with securities fraud.
Lorna Scott, the pension fund’s chief investment officer, could not be immediately reached for further information.
As of Sept. 30, the pension fund’s actual allocation to fixed income was 24.3%; the target is 22%.
Investment consultant Callan assisted.
