New Jersey Division of Investment, which handles investments for the New Jersey Pension Fund, Trenton, will issue an RFP next month for investment advisers to provide non-discretionary advice for emerging markets equity and international small-cap equity.
The division described its intention Wednesday in a report to the State Investment Council, which formulates policy for the division, a unit of the state Department of the Treasury.
The division currently has five emerging markets investment advisers, the report said. These firms provide non-discretionary investment advice for a total market value of about $5.7 billion of the pension fund's $83.3 billion in assets, the report said.
The division also has contracts with three small-cap equity investment advisers covering a portfolio of about $950 million.
Jennifer Sciortino, a Treasury department spokeswoman, wrote in an email that issuing the RFP is "standard practice" because the current contracts expire during the second half of 2021 and that the current advisers are welcome to rebid.
The emerging market equity advisers are BlackRock, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Lazard Asset Management, Pzena Investment Management and Schroder Investment Management North America. The small-cap equity advisers are Acadian Asset Management, American Century Investments and Wasatch Global Investors.
The proposed RFP will seek to hire up to 15 advisers for emerging markets equity and up to 10 advisers for international small-cap equity, said the division report, which didn't comment on possible contract lengths.
The emerging markets and small-cap programs are "expected to consist of a blend of active, passive, and quasi-passive strategies," the report said.
