Watertown (Mass.) Contributory Retirement System is searching for an unconstrained fixed-income manager to run between $7 million and $15 million.
The $244 million pension fund is issuing an RFP because it is seeking a manager to complement its current fixed-income managers, said Barbara A. Sheehan, director of the pension fund, in an email.
The funding source has yet to be determined. The pension fund is seeking proposals from managers that offer an unconstrained, flexible-duration, liquid fixed-income strategy, according to a public notice posted on the website of the Massachusetts Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission.
The notice said the retirement system's board will not accept proposals for core-plus or multisector credit strategies or hedge funds, and did not disclose whether this is a new allocation or a potential replacement for a current manager.
According to the pension fund's most recently published investment report, the fixed-income managers as of June 30 were Income Research & Management, which ran $36 million in a core fixed-income portfolio as of that date; Brandywine Global Investment Management, which ran $8 million in opportunistic fixed income; and Eaton Vance, which ran $5 million in high yield.
The pension fund's actual allocation to fixed income as of June 30 was 20%; the target is 23.5%.
The RFP will be posted on the website of investment consultant Fiducient Advisors, which is assisting with the search. Proposals are due at 4 p.m. EST on Nov. 21. A timeline for a selection was not provided.
