Pensions & Investments back issues from May 2004:
Solutions wanted: Illinois panel seeks to solve underfunding puzzle.(News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr CHICAGO - The Illinois Governor's Pension Commission is off to an auspicious beginning. Not all 11 members have yet attended either of its first two meetings, although one member supplemented the roster with her dog. The commission, appointed by ...
PACING GROWTH.(Face To Face)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Christine Williamson Joel Katzman clearly and fondly remembers the early days - 10 years ago - when it was possible for two people to oversee the investment management of J.P. Morgan's hedge fund-of-funds business. Today, Mr. Katzman's team numbers 70 and allocates $6 ...
Spreading the word: French `evangelist' wants Europe to adopt employer-sponsored plan; New vehicle would offer more choices to participants.(World News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Shahnaz Mahmud PARIS - Jean-Baptiste Segard plans to evangelize the virtues of France's new defined contribution plan to the rest of Europe. With missionary zeal, Mr. Segard, who is manager of employee savings schemes at Paris-based Societe Generale Asset ...
Show me the alpha: Non-traditional strategies find a willing audience; Pension funds are quick to accept managers' new absolute-return approaches.(News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Douglas Appell Money managers are striking pay dirt with strategies that promise positive returns whether major stock and bond indexes are waxing or waning. "The world is in flux right now,'' said Bill Schneider, a principal with DiMeo Schneider & Associates ...
Taking Away The Punch Bowl; TIPS: Proceed with caution.(Frontlines)(Brief Article)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Greg Crawford Smith Breeden's Dan Dektar noted that people don't consider real yield when putting their hopes in TIPS. The Federal Reserve Board is expected to hike interest rates later this year as the economic recovery continues to build and inflation ...
Briefs: U.K. pooled pension funds gain meager 1.1% in quarter, down from 18.1% in '03.(World News)
May 03, 2004 ... LONDON - U.K. pooled pension funds returned a median 1.1% in the first quarter, compared with 18.1% for the same period last year, according to Russell Mellon. Daniel Hall, manager of publications and statistics, said 2003 saw the first positive calendar-year returns for pooled pension ...
`Gold standards': AIMR private equity valuation guidelines may help PEIGG.(News)(Private Equity Industry Guidelines Group)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius Members of the Private Equity Industry Guidelines Group say the seemingly stalled adoption of its valuation guidelines will soon sprout wings and fly. What could nudge PEIGG's 4-month-old guidelines to widespread adoption by the private equity ...
Stick to knitting: Chasing performance loses out to staying the course; Blue Heron study questions Ennis theory.(News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Joel Chernoff GIG HARBOR, Wash. - Equity managers who stuck to their knitting performed better than managers who chased performance, even through the turbulent markets of the late 1990s, according to a draft study from Blue Heron Group, a consultant to money managers. ...
Hirings.
May 03, 2004 ... Anchorage Municipal ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Anchorage Municipal Deferred Compensation Plan will add the Dreyfus Midcap Index fund and drop the Strong Opportunity fund as investment options in the $150 million 457 plan, said Daniel Moore, municipality treasurer. The Strong fund, ...
Lobbying hard: German group pushing for DC plan in reform bill; Asset management firms could become big winners in proposal to supplement current retirement options.(World News)
May 03, 2004 ... Byline: Shahnaz Mahmud FRANKFURT - Germany's investment fund and asset management association, known as BVI, is lobbying hard for the country's first defined contribution plan to be included in a pension reform bill pending in Parliament. According to Rudolph Siebel, ...
Not shocking.(Editorial)(china oil exports)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
May 03, 2004 ... "As for oil, China, with new help from India, is squeezing world inventories. ... Three and a half years ago China was a significant oil exporter. It's now one of the top three oil importing nations and is the world's second-largest oil consumer. ...
Corrections/Clarifications.(Correction Notice)
May 03, 2004 ... * The name of Horizon Cash Management LLC, Chicago, was incorrect in an April 19 story. * The Ohio Public Employees' Retirement System, ...
When to start? Measurement mixed bag for transition management firms.(News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Gregory Crawford Pension fund asset transfers have been growing 40% a year for the past several years, but transition management vendors still argue over the best way to measure the performance of assets during a transition, leaving plan sponsors with a tough time ...
Recognizing Excellence: Leibowitz, Ezra win this year's Lillywhite Award.(Frontlines)(Martin L. Leibowitz)(D. Don Ezra)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Michael Clowes Martin L. Leibowitz, managing director U.S. equity strategy for Morgan Stanley Inc., and D. Don Ezra, director of strategic advice for Russell Investment Group, have been named winners of the 2004 Lillywhite Award. Mr. Leibowitz was recognized ...
Different criteria: Objectively ranking managers gets tougher.(Special Report: Mutual Funds)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Frank Sortino Does the name Eliot Spitzer fill you with fear or gratitude? Most likely that answer depends on your view of investors' rights. I believe Eliot Spitzer has irrevocably transformed the future of manager selection in America. His lawsuit against ...
Bigger not better: Small, midcap funds keep chugging along; Surprising atypical lag of large-cap stocks as bear market recedes delights managers.(Special Report: Mutual Funds)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Douglas Appell Small-to-midcap equity funds remained kings of the hill in the first quarter, maintaining their lead longer than some money managers had anticipated, according to Pensions & Investments' latest survey of mutual funds most used in defined contribution ...
What will be left to value?(Editorial)
May 03, 2004 ... Mark-to-market accounting of pension funds' assets, which the FASB and the IASB are considering, could eliminate the remaining support for corporate defined benefit plans. It also could have devastating results for the equity markets that depend on pension funds for capital, as ...
Changes Ahead.(request for proposals for investment advisers, managers)
May 03, 2004 ... Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System, Des Moines, is searching for an active domestic high-yield fixed-income manager to run $300 million. Any firm that meets the minimum requirement in the RFP may submit a proposal; the $15.8 billion system is also using a list of high-yield managers ...
It's About Potential: Maybe 401(k)s really are better.(Frontlines)(Book Review)
May 03, 2004 ... Byline: Barry B. Burr In their new book, "Coming Up Short: The Challenge of 401(k) Plans,'' Alicia H. Munnell and Annika Sunden ask a key question: Are workers better or worse off as a result of the shift to 401(k) plans from defined benefit plans? Their answer will ...
Bad timing: Brighter skies in forecast for Florida's 401(a) plan; Officials optimistic that slow participation rate for 2-year-old plan is picking up steam.(News)
May 03, 2004 ... Byline: Phyllis Feinberg TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Officials at the Florida State Board of Administration are increasingly optimistic about the future of the state's 2-year-old 401(a) plan, despite a slow start. The vast majority of Florida state employees don't choose a ...
Fixed-income portfolios join effort to squeeze out still higher returns.(News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Joel Chernoff Money managers are trying to crank out additional returns from their fixed-income strategies, hoping that pension funds will leap at the opportunity. With projected long-term returns for fixed income between 3% and 4%, managers are working on a ...
On the rise: Managers see the good times rollin' again; Assets of top firms climb 26% despite turmoil caused by trading scandal.(Special Report: Mutual Funds)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Douglas Appell The largest 25 managers of mutual fund assets in defined contribution plans enjoyed their first fat year in four during 2003, with assets rebounding 26% to nearly $934.8 billion. That joy was leavened by a heavy dose of anguish from September, ...
INTERNATIONAL/GLOBAL MANAGERS SURVEY UNDER WAY.(News)
May 03, 2004 ... Pensions & Investments' 2004 International & Global Manager questionnaire is due May 21. Firms managing U.S. institutional, tax-exempt assets in accounts with an international or global mandate (measured against an international or global index or manager universe), or overlay strategies ...
Accounting, governance: Largest pension funds hold 3% of shares in both best, worst of firms.(News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr LOS ANGELES - The 25 largest pension funds held in aggregate about 3% of the stock of the 10 companies ranked the worst in accounting and corporate governance issues, according to Audit Integrity LLC. Of the 10 companies ranked best in corporate ...
Frothy prospects: Giant Google IPO not clicking with many growth managers; They say the hype could push stock price way too high.(News)(Initial public offerings)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Christine Williamson and Gregory Crawford When Google Inc. goes public, many institutional money managers will be watching from the sidelines as retail investors whip themselves into a froth over the deal. Google, the Mountain View, Calif., Internet search ...
New Orleans Picks Large-Cap Manager Holland.(Hirings)(New Orleans City Employees' Retirement System)(Brief Article)
May 03, 2004 ... NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans City Employees' Retirement System hired Holland Capital to run $5 million in active domestic large-cap growth equities and increased its commitments to hedge funds of funds run by K2 Advisors, Mariner and Okumus by a combined $5 million, said Jerry Davis, ...
Still A Busy Man: Yusko refocuses.(Frontlines)(University of North Carolina)
May 03, 2004 ... Byline: Christine Williamson Mark W. Yusko, the charismatic chief executive officer and president of UNC Management Co. Inc., Chapel Hill, is leaving June 30. The reason is university trustees' change in attitude toward Mr. Yusko's employment contract, said James ...
News Briefs; Indiana PERF considers doing away with its hedge fund target allocation.(Briefs)(Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund )
May 03, 2004 ... INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund might eliminate its target for hedge funds or absolute return strategies, now at 5% of the plan's $520 million alternatives allocation. Strategic Investment Solutions, the fund's alternatives consultant, recommended that the ...
At Deadline; UTIMCO oversight raised.(Late News)
May 03, 2004 ... University of Texas System's board of regents unanimously voted on April 29 to increase oversight of the University of Texas Investment Management Co. The motion called on Chancellor Mark Yudof to create and recommend "an effective oversight system for the proper management of UTIMCO, ...
Back with a boom: Good news for asset managers; Publicly traded firms' earnings soar despite mutual fund ills.(News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Ricki Fulman Publicly traded asset management firms are thriving once again, driven by the 2003 stock market rally and huge net inflows into mutual funds. While fund companies that have been implicated in the trading scandals have benefited less from these ...
Inertia at work: 401(k) participants as slow as turtles; And, once they switch asset classes, they rarely move back again.(News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Gregory Crawford Participants in 401(k) plans tend to wait until stock market returns are extremely low before switching to fixed-income investments in a flight to safety. But when returns improve, they rarely switch back, according to a new study. The ...
SURVEY: They say `no' to DB plan; Just 10% of corporate executives say they would choose defined benefit plans if starting retirement program today.(News)
May 03, 2004 ... Byline: Phyllis Feinberg Only 10% of corporate executives would offer a traditional defined benefit plan if they were allowed to create their companies' retirement programs from scratch, a survey by Deloitte Consulting LLP reveals. By contrast, some 83% of would ...
`A problem': Rate hike a boon to some mezzanine investors.(News)
May 03, 2004; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius Mezzanine managers in real estate and private equity could be big winners if interest rates rise, as expected. Real estate managers would be the first to benefit, as a small change in income on a property owned by a highly leveraged owner could ...
Corrections/Clarifications.(Corrections)(Correction Notice)
May 17, 2004 ... Peter Knez is chief investment officer, global fixed income at ...
Personal touch: More providers enter field as managed accounts grow; The idea is to give participants more help with portfolio.(News)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Phyllis Feinberg Managed accounts are gaining popularity with 401(k) plan providers fighting for a place in the market, as well as with plan participants. Providers such as including the Vanguard Group, Malvern, Pa., and T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, ...
Not producing e-mails: Sluggish responses to SEC; Some consultants are dragging their feet in the agency's inquiry into services for pension funds.(News)(Securities and Exchange Commission)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr Some consultants haven't fully cooperated with the SEC's inquiry into work done for pension fund clients, said Lori A. Richards, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. "We are ...
Local focus: Revamped Swedish plan could leave some firms out in cold.(News)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Shahnaz Mahmud STOCKHOLM - The Swedish government this month will recommend streamlining the groundbreaking 122 billion Swedish krona ($16 billion) defined contribution state pension system launched four years ago. One upshot could be a decrease in the number ...
N.Y. Teachers commits to private equity funds.(Hirings)(Brief Article)
May 17, 2004 ... ALBANY - New York State Teachers' Retirement System committed up to $100 million to Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners V and up to $75 million to WCAS Capital Partners IV, both private equity funds, said NYSTRS' spokesman Dave Daly. It also committed up to $50 million to the MONY B-Note ...
Aftermath of probes: Clinton Group to turn its loss into marketing ploy; Assets down 74% in 'toughest period' in its history, but firm now touts funds' capacity.(News)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Christine Williamson NEW YORK - Clinton Group Inc. finds itself with plenty of capacity in its hedge funds strategies - at least $5 billion - while the rest of the industry is bursting at the seams trying to absorb all the new money. And it's probably going ...
University of Chicago losing Halpern as head of $3.5 billion endowment.(People)
May 17, 2004 ... Philip Halpern will leave the $3.5 billion University of Chicago endowment, where he is vice president and chief investment officer, effective June 30. He decided to step down after six years because of a difference in philosophies with the investment committee, he said. David ...
Attractive correlation: Small-cap, midcap stocks hold promise in emerging markets.(Portfolio Management)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Michael Fredericks Emerging markets have been known to produce reactions ranging from white knuckles to avid thumbs-up from investors familiar with the asset class. It's true that emerging markets tend to experience greater political turmoil, higher return ...
EMERGING MANAGERS: Performance report spurs CalPERS to take fresh look; Mixed results come as staff is considering future of program, possible alternatives.(News)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius SACRAMENTO - A report of mixed performance of CalPERS' more than $3 billion manager development program comes at a time when staff of the $166 billion system is deciding whether to recommend investing more money in another version of the novel program. ...
A trend? Delaware unit execs in the buyout deal's driver's seat.(News)(Delaware International Advisers Ltd.)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Douglas Appell The managers of Delaware International Advisors Ltd. teamed up with private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC earlier this month to buy out DIAL from parent Delaware Investments, winning their independence and avoiding the embrace of strategic investors ...
Wants one reg for all: Bush to seek pension funding overhaul.(News)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Vineeta Anand WASHINGTON - The Bush administration wants to gut the current pension funding rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act as part of an effort to prevent a wholesale collapse of the private pension system. The proposals are intended ...
IT'S A WAY OF LIFE: Going to extremes.(Frontlines)(Brief Article)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Christine Williamson Alex Shogren has good timing. After following the Grateful Dead around for a few years post-college, he started marketing hedge funds, as a third party, and came up with the idea for promoting hedge funds online. That led him to found ...
Wilshire could be first: Good luck searching for Google in indexes; IPO timing makes quick inclusion in Russell, Standard & Poor's benchmarks problematic.(News)
May 17, 2004 ... Byline: Gregory Crawford Google Inc. stock might not make it into major benchmark indexes for a year or more after the company goes public, leaving passive index money managers among the institutional investors standing on the sidelines. "If you think about the way ...
Hirtle Callaghan's 1st investment leadership award goes to Miltenberger.(Frontlines)(Brief Article)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Gregory Crawford Arthur D. Miltenberger, the retired chief investment officer of the Pittsburgh-based Richard King Mellon Foundation, recently received the first Hirtle Callaghan Award for Investment Leadership. The award, presented by Jonathan Hirtle, ...
International/global managers survey due.(News)
May 17, 2004 ... Pensions & Investments' 2004 International & Global Manager questionnaire is due May 21. Firms managing U.S. institutional, tax-exempt assets in accounts with an international or global mandate (measured against an international or global index or manager universe), or overlay strategies ...
At Deadline; S&P 500 contributions rise.(Late News)
May 17, 2004 ... Pension contributions by S&P 500 companies increased to $65 billion last year from $40.6 billion in 2002, according to a new Wilshire Associates study. Excluding General Motors, which contributed $18.6 billion last year and $4.9 billion in 2002, contributions were $46.4 billion in 2003, up ...
Changes Ahead.(Briefs)(Jacksonville (Fla.) General Employees Pension Fund)(Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund)(Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System)
May 17, 2004 ... Jacksonville (Fla.) General Employees Pension Fund issued RFPs for one or more active domestic intermediate-term bond managers to run a total of $125 million and for an investment consultant, said Camille Cossa, pension administrator. Current bond manager Taplin, Canida & Habacht and ...
P&I daily to be issued exclusively by e-mail.(News)
May 17, 2004 ... Effective May 17, Pensions & Investments' daily newsletter, P&I Daily, will be distributed exclusively by e-mail. If you are a P&I ...
Wisconsin turns loss into win; Investors gain by new model for class action crafted from Anicom case.(Other Views)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Keith L. Johnson and Ken McNeil Investors are being ill-served by the legal system when it comes to addressing corporate fraud. Hundreds of class-action lawsuits are filed each year, but recoveries come slow and are a fraction of what was lost. Many investors are not ...
Goodbye UBS: Diermeier launches his 2nd career.(Frontlines)(UBS Global Asset Management)(Brief Article)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Joel Chernoff Jeffrey J. Diermeier is looking forward to his second job in the investment management industry. The 29-year veteran of UBS Global Asset Management and its preceding organizations was named president and chief executive officer of the CFA ...
BESTOWING HONORS: Recognizing leadership, contributions; John O'Brien receives MacArthur Memorial Award for consulting.(Frontlines)(Brief Article)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Michael Clowes John O'Brien was awarded the Matthew R. MacArthur Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to investment consulting by the Investment Management Consultants Association, Denver. Mr. O'Brien received the award at IMCA's Spring Conference in ...
Washington State: Investment execs could be sitting on fatter wallets soon, thanks to study; Board approves big hikes because peers get bigger salaries.(News)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Joel Chernoff OLYMPIA, Wash. - Investment professionals at the $55.8 billion Washington State Investment Board may get some hefty increases in their pay packages. The board approved substantial increases in the pay ranges for its 20-person investment staff ...
January debut: external managers to get piece of new Danish defined contribution plan.(World News)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Shahnaz Mahmud HILLEROED, Denmark - When Denmark's Special Pension Savings Scheme is opened up in January, participants will be able to allocate their portions of the plan's 40 billion Danish krone ($5.2 billion) in assets to outside managers. The 6-year-old ...
Hirings; Alaska Hotel & Restaurant.(Hartland & Co.)
May 17, 2004 ... ANCHORAGE - Alaska Hotel & Restaurant Employees Pension Trust hired Quest Investment, Dodge & Cox and Victory Capital to run a total of $50 million in active domestic large-cap equities, said Tim C. Rutledge, senior consultant at Wurts & Associates, the $158 million plan's investment ...
Doing nothing, an active choice.(Editorial)
May 17, 2004 ... Byline: Barry B. Burr The Illinois State Universities Retirement System has demonstrated the importance of sticking to strategy in a roiling investment market, and not terminating a manager going through a tough period. It recently increased by $50 million its ...
Funding issue: Dutch funds see long bonds as savior; More plans move to reduce liability mismatches in anticipation of rule changes.(World News)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Beatrix Payne AMSTERDAM - Dutch pension plans are debating moving into long-term bonds in anticipation of accounting rule changes and tighter pension regulations. A handful of large Dutch pension plans have already moved to reduce some of their liability ...
First quarter: Time is right for REITs; high yield remains stellar; Equities: Small cap leads, but real estate ranks high in top 10 managed accounts.(Special Report: PIPER)(Real Estate Investment Trust)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Phyllis Feinberg The red-hot stock market of 2003 cooled off a bit in the first quarter of 2004. Small-cap equity strategies were the strongest performers in the PIPER rankings for the year ended March 31. But real estate investment trusts and portfolios of ...
Fixed income: Improved corporate profits translate into better bond returns.(Special Report: PIPER)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Gregory Crawford Some high-yield and convertible bond managers continued to reap strong returns in the first quarter, helped by the improving corporate profit picture, according to PIPER. Zazove Associates LLC's High Yield Convertible Securities strategy ...
World briefs; Lufthansa seeks managers for new pension fund.(World News)(Deutsche Lufthansa AG)
May 17, 2004 ... COLOGNE, Germany - Lufthansa AG is searching for global managers for U.S. and Asian equities and emerging market bonds for a new pension fund being launched next quarter, probably in July, said Axel Tillmann, general manager treasury for the company, which has e4.3 billion ($5.1 billion) ...
In whose interest?(Editorial)(Department of Labor)
May 17, 2004 ... The Department of Labor should establish rules governing when financial service firms may offer their own mutual funds as investment vehicles in the 401(k) plans they provide for their employees. The question is why hasn't the DOL already done so. In the past three years, a ...
READY TO WORK: New PBGC head set to fix system; Belt wants to end contradictions in pension regulations.(News)
May 17, 2004 ... Byline: Vineeta Anand WASHINGTON - Bradley D. Belt, the new executive director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., is focusing on repairing what he calls a "flawed system'' of contradictory pension rules and regulations. He said the flaws are embedded in the ...
First, but not last: GAM closes hedge fund of funds to reassess; Firm shuts down all 69 strategies, which have $18 billion in assets.(News)(GAM Holding AG)
May 17, 2004; ... Byline: Christine Williamson GAM Holding AG, Zurich, one of the world's largest hedge fund-of-funds managers, has closed all of its 69 multistrategy, multimanager funds while executives decide what to do withthe huge inflows it is attracting from investors. Sources ...