Pensions & Investments back issues from May 2006:
Closing gaps: Course enlightens pension authorities.(Brief article)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Beatrix Payne Just as a mountaineer needs to understand the weather and all aspects of the slopes he wants to climb, pension lawmakers and those running pension plans need multidisciplinary training, said David Blake, program director of a new masters degree in pensions ...
Small-cap closings open smid-cap, midcap opportunities.
May 01, 2006 ... Byline: Jenna Gottlieb DARIEN, Conn. - Institutional investors are allocating significantly more to smid-cap and midcap funds as more small-cap funds close to new investors, according to a report by Casey, Quirk & Associates LLC, Darien, Conn. "I think there's ...
GlaxoSmithKline's 6 U.K. plans consolidate fund management.(News)
May 01, 2006 ... Byline: Beatrix Payne BRENTFORD, England - GlaxoSmith-Kline PLC has pooled the money management of its six U.K. pension plans into a common investment fund with [pounds sterling]5.2 billion ($9.2 billion) in defined benefit assets. GSK trustees this year also intend ...
U.S. firms to gain from U.K. asset shifts; 'Benchmark-lite' strategies favoring boutique managers.(united states)(united kingdom)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Beatrix Payne LONDON - Independent asset management boutiques are poised to benefit from a shift by U.K. pension plans to long-term, long-only, "benchmark lite'' mandates and absolute return strategies. U.S.-based firms are best placed to reap the benefits, ...
Corrections/Clarifications.(Corrections)(Correction notice)
May 01, 2006 ... * The Pension Research Institute's methodology for ranking mutual funds was a time-weighted average return of 13.6% for the 10-year period ended June 30, 2005. The returns for the same period for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were 10.4% and 8.5%, respectively. Incorrect information was provided ...
Something of a tradition: Another private equity governor?(Frontlines)(Chris Gabrieli )(Brief article)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius In November, Massachusetts' gubernatorial race may once again include a private equity executive. Last month, Chris Gabrieli launched a campaign to succeed Gov. Mitt Romney, who founded Boston-based private equity firm Bain Capital. ...
Emerging markets: SWIB looks at economic freedom.(Frontlines)(State of Wisconsin Investment Board(SWIB))(Brief article)
May 01, 2006 ... Byline: Barry B. Burr State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Madison, strengthened its screening of emerging market countries. The $78.8 billion fund added the Index of Economic Freedom to be used along with the Freedom House ratings SWIB already uses "to determine the ...
American Independence.(Hirings)(Orange County Employees Retirement System)(Callan Associates Inc.)(William Blair)(Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites)
May 01, 2006 ... NEW YORK - American Independence Financial Services hired Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss to subadvise its $106 million American Independence International Equity Fund, confirmed Jared Goldstrom, portfolio manager at American Independence Funds. Barrow Hanley replaces American Beacon. ...
Alternative treatments of equitized hedge funds.(Portfolio Management)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: William K.S. Wang Increasingly, institutional investor portfolios contain equitized hedge funds, which are hedge funds combined with stock index futures. This article examines how to treat such vehicles when comparing the actual portfolio with the ...
Market makers.(Editorial)(William Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital LP)(Edward S. Lampert)(Sears Canada Inc.)
May 01, 2006 ... The battle being waged by two hedge fund managers over Sears Canada Inc. is reminiscent of Mad Magazine's old Spy vs. Spy struggles of operatives employing similar methods, unable to easily outwit one another to achieve their objectives. On one side is William Ackman, founder of ...
Hey, is it hot in here? Growing number of institutions put their money behind strategies that promise to cut greenhouse gas emissions.(News)
May 01, 2006 ... Byline: Thao Hua LONDON - Global warming is permeating the portfolios of institutional investors, driven not only by a social conscience but also by regulatory changes and skyrocketing oil prices among other economic factors. "The socially responsible side is not a ...
Plans strive to avoid conflicts in securities lending, proxy voting.(News)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Gregory Crawford With the 2006 proxy season well under way, plan sponsors' programs to ensure that securities lending activity does not conflict with proxy voting are in high gear. "Where there are corporate governance votes - key board votes that one could ...
Slick attack on big oil.(Editorial)(petroleum industry)(Editorial)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Mike Clowes Nothing more displays the ignorance of the general public about the workings of the free market system - and especially the capital markets as well as the cynical exploitation of that ignorance by politicians - than higher energy prices. As ...
Ameriprise joining the lifecycle bandwagon.(News)(Ward Armstrong)( Ameriprise Retirement Services )(Interview)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Jenna Gottlieb MINNEAPOLIS - Ameriprise Retirement Services believes in target-date asset allocation funds for 401(k) plans, although it took its time, according to Ward Armstrong, president. "The marketplace and participants have spoken,'' he said. ...
On the next level; Steven Pisarkiewicz joined BNY Asset Management two years ago. Since his arrival, the firm has increased assets, made acquisitions and added new talent. Such growth is one way that he measures success.(Face To Face)(Steven Pisarkiewicz of BNY Asset Management speaks on his management)(Interview)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Mark Bruno When Steven Pisarkiewicz moved from AllianceBernstein to take the helm at BNY Asset Management two years ago, his mandate was to build a more sophisticated investment platform that could take the New York-based money manager to the next level. In that time, ...
New face, new location and new name for Brandywine.(News)(Brandywine Global)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Mark Bruno Philadelphia - Brandywine Asset Management executives have rapidly executed a number of major changes to the firm in recent weeks, adding a managing partner in addition to changing its name and relocating. All three moves were made in response to ...
Wilshire: Funding levels improve - barely - in '05.
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Pension assets gained little ground in catching up with pension liabilities after three straight years of a rising stock market and generally falling interest rates, according to a new Wilshire Associates report on corporate pension ...
Covered calls become another alpha source; Buy-write strategy performance can beat long-only, but pension execs are skittish.
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Vince Calio NEW YORK - Covered call strategies are not just insurance for portfolios anymore, they are becoming sources of alpha. For return-starved plan sponsors facing rising liabilities, weak expected returns from the equity and bond markets and a flat ...
Options can mimic hedge fund returns: Andrew Lo; Academician says his portfolio can replicate strategies like merger arbitrage.
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Vince Calio Even complex hedge fund strategies can be replicated. So says Andrew W. Lo, Harris & Harris Group professor and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Laboratory for Financial Engineering, Cambridge, Mass. Mr. Lo is working on a ...
Theoretical profit: Double your money in 10 weeks.(Brief article)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Gregory Crawford Attention plan sponsors: looking for someone who can turn a quick profit? You might want to contact University of Texas-Austin graduate student Patrick Christmas. Mr. Christmas recently took home the top prize in the first electronic trading ...
Conference delivers diversity; Emerging managers and minority firms the subject of tutorial on how to reap investment dollars given by California pension titans.
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Joel Chernoff SAN JOSE, Calif. - Pension funds generally ward off new managers with a stick, telling them to come back after they have a three-year track record. But last week, CalPERS and CalSTRS put out the welcome mat to minority and emerging firms. At a ...
CalPERS' new CIO brings energy; Oil, commodities among potential investment targets for Read.(Russell Read)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Joel Chernoff Russell Read, CalPERS' new CIO, thinks the giant fund can take advantage of new investment opportunities if oil prices remain above $70 a barrel. "It's the elephant in the investment room that ... has implications across stocks, bonds and, of ...
Sudan law: NFTC challenges state's authority.(Frontlines)(Brief article)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr The National Foreign Trade Council is considering filing suit to challenge the constitutionality of the Illinois law requiring public pension funds in the state to divest investments in companies with ties to Sudan. The council, which has 300 ...
Frenetic pace the norm in operations departments.(News)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Gregory Crawford As money managers look to increase assets under management, their operations departments are scrambling to keep up with the growth so investment performance doesn't suffer from weaknesses in execution, processing or reporting. At the same ...
AMVESCAP rehab gets praise, but lacks detail.
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Douglas Appell ATLANTA - Six months after taking the helm at AMVESCAP, President and CEO Martin L. Flanagan continues to paint the firm's goals in the broadest brush strokes, but investment bankers and stock market investors seem inclined to believe he eventually will ...
Firms' 1st-quarter assets under management show gains.
May 01, 2006 ... Several money managers have issued first-quarter reports, including assets under management. * State Street Global Advisors, Boston, had assets under management of $1.538 trillion as of March 31, up 12% from a year earlier, said spokeswoman Arlene Roberts. The firm had $1.44 ...
Loan market draws more U.S. managers; Investment firms jump on opportunities offered by European secured fixed income.
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Thao Hua LONDON - U.S. money managers are muscling their way into the European leveraged loans market, drawn to what they believe is a source of fixed-income returns with plenty of opportunity. The sector, once the domain of banks, has been swelling with cash ...
People: Seidner takes fixed-income post at Harvard Management.(People)(Harvard Management Co. appoints Marc Seidner )(General Motors Asset Management appoints James Scott )(Case Western Reserve University appoints Arthur W. Roos )
May 01, 2006 ... Marc Seidner was hired as head of domestic fixed income for Harvard Management Co., and CEO Mohamed El-Erian continues to search for executives to head up international fixed income, currency management and oversight of the external managers who look after about half of Harvard ...
Check out those returns: New Star features hot talent.(New Star Asset Management Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Christine Williamson New Star Asset Management Ltd., London, is one of the first U.K. money managers to give its young portfolio managers full-blown star treatment. Pictures of three of "New Star's New Stars'' are blanketing London subway tunnels, billboards ...
Artisan lifts out DuPont emerging markets team.(DuPont Capital Management Corp.)
May 01, 2006 ... MILWAUKEE - Artisan Partners lifted out an emerging markets investment team from DuPont Capital Management, according to Andrew Ziegler, Artisan CEO and managing partner. The four senior investment professionals, led by Maria Negrete-Gruson, managing director and portfolio manager, will ...
Asset growth slackens; Top 25 DC mutual fund managers see 13.7% 2005 gain, tempered by broad market trends.(Special Report: Mutual Funds)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Douglas Appell The 25 top managers of mutual funds most used by defined contribution plans ended 2005 with a 13.7% gain in assets to $1.222 trillion, according to Pensions & Investments' latest survey. That pace was less than 2004's nearly 18% rise, reflecting ...
Changes Ahead.(Briefs)(Request For Proposal)(Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board)(Waltham (Mass.) Contributory Retirement Plan)(Newton (Mass.) Contributory Retirement Board)
May 01, 2006 ... Texas Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Board, Austin, issued one RFP for an active domestic small-cap core equity manager to run $175 million and another for an active international value equity manager to run $110 million, according to the Texas Building and Procurement Commission's ...
Unconventional thinking needed, PIMCO paper says.(News)(Pacific Investment Management Co.)(Interview)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - The U.S. should adopt a combination of monetary and fiscal policies of zero interest rates and zero return on financial and real-estate assets as a way to eliminate its trade and fiscal deficits, while reducing the excessive debt in ...
Investors look beyond oil price hue and cry; Institutional shareholders see recent profits as proof their patience has become a virtue.
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr Institutional shareholders, unmoved by concerns about high gasoline prices and criticism of high oil company profits, believe their patient investing is now paying off. "It's a prototypical conundrum,'' said William R. Atwood, executive director ...
Institutional investors severing ties with Sudan.(News)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Cecily O'Connor SAN FRANCISCO - At least $6.2 billion in shares of companies tied to Sudan is targeted for divestment by institutional investors so far as grassroots pressure increases to pull out money tied to the war-torn state. That number could swell, ...
OCKHAM HIRES SCHRODERS FOR LDI MANDATE.(Hirings)(Brief article)
May 01, 2006 ... BRENTWOOD, England - Ockham Pension Scheme hired Schroders to manage its [pounds sterling]80 million ($143 million) pension plan in a liability-driven mandate. Sixty percent of plan assets will be invested in growth assets, including public and private equity, property, hedge funds, high ...
At Deadline; DB reimbursements stop.(Late News)(United States. Department of Energy)(Julian Regan quits New York State Deferred Compensation Board)(Pioneer Investment Management Inc.)
May 01, 2006 ... The U.S. Department of Energy will stop reimbursing expenses for defined benefit coverage for new contractor employees, according to a new policy announced April 27. The department "will reimburse contractors for the costs of their market-based defined contribution pension plans ...
Swaps form basis of creating a benchmark for liabilities.(Portfolio Management)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Jan Willem Stuijvenberg and Arun Muralidhar There has been a growing emphasis on pension fund liability management and creating a portfolio of assets to match these obligations. One strategy seeks to protect pension fund solvency through the immunization of ...
New BlackRock sets out to `empower the region'; First step in merging with Merrill Lynch unit.(News)(BlackRock Inc.)(Merrill Lynch and Company Inc.)(Europe Middle East Africa/Australian and Asian operations)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Mark Bruno NEW YORK - Executives for BlackRock Inc. have unveiled the foundation for combining their firm with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers when the two complete their merger later this year. BlackRock and MLIM, which managed more than $1 trillion ...
Int'l/Global Survey In Progress; Money Manager Survey Closing.(News)
May 01, 2006 ... Pensions & Investments' 2006 International/Global Money Managers Survey is due May 19. Firms running U.S. institutional, tax-exempt assets in accounts with international or global mandates, or overlay strategies for such accounts, are eligible. Results will ...
New attention being showered on investment panels.(News)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Gregory Crawford Thanks to greater focus on compliance, governance and regulation, investment committees at pension plans, endowments and foundations are getting much needed attention from their sponsors. Keith Hocter, a co-founder of Montclair, N.J., ...
Investors say: Supersize it; More than 30 U.S. institutions invest $1 billion or more each.(News)
May 01, 2006; ... Byline: Christine Williamson The number of U.S. institutional investors with more than $1 billion going into hedge funds more than tripled in the past three years, with combined investments of at least $67.5 billion. More than 30 U.S. institutions have publicly ...
The trend and its consequences; Replacing DB plans with DC plans produces short-term gains but long-term economic damage.(analysis of defined contribution plans)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Gary W. Findlay I'm sure you have noticed a number of articles lately like the one I just read regarding a company that was replacing its defined benefit plan with a defined contribution plan. In the article it was factually reported that the company " ... will cut ...
Defining strategies on Sudan divestment.(Other Views)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Sophia Collier In recent months there has been growing momentum for divestiture of companies doing business in Sudan. The country, only 80 miles across the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia, is the site of extreme ethnic and economic conflict where militias, sponsored by the ...
Complete Morningstar universe used.(first quarter of Pensions and Investments)(Brief article)
May 15, 2006 ... Beginning with this report on manager performance for the first quarter of 2006, Pensions & Investments is using the complete Morningstar universe for the quarterly "Best Performing Managers'' special report. In 2004, Pensions & Investments sold the P&I Performance Evaluation ...
Yield curve is dead?(Editorial)(economic conditions)(Editorial)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr The yield curve has lost its luster, contends Douglas Ramsey, senior research analyst of Leuthold Group. His research "casts doubt on whether the obsession over a possible yield curve inversion is even worthwhile,'' he wrote in the April issue ...
Familiar front-runners; Equities: Energy, small-cap sectors keep leading the pack: 7 in top 10 for latest year.(Special Report: Top-performing managers)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Mark Bruno Think small and think with energy. Once again, the top performing equity managers were powered by energy stocks and small-cap companies for the one-year period ended March 31, and a number of portfolio managers on these strategies expect the run to ...
Trustee sidekick: Public pension plans for dummies.(Frontlines)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Emily Newman Note to any pension plan trustee or administrator who has wished someone would write "Everything You Wanted to Know About Public Pensions (But Were Afraid to Ask)'': look no further. The National Conference on Public Employee Pensions has ...
Hot commodities attracting attention and skepticism; Use of asset class as investment option gaining notice among plan executives.(News)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Jenna Gottlieb Defined contribution plans are beginning to consider commodities as investment options, either through commodity index mutual funds or unitizing commodity investments from their defined benefit plans. "Interest in commodities has grown over the ...
Data-mining tool.(services of money managers)(Editorial)
May 15, 2006 ... XBRL, to the uninitiated, is a meaningless group of letters. But the extensible business reporting language format will have a profound impact on the availability of financial information, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It will enable investors to search the SEC ...
Hennessee Group's assets under management fall 70%.(management, sales and earnings)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Christine Williamson NEW YORK - Assets under management by Hennessee Group LLC have dropped 70% to $408 million at year-end 2005, down from $1.35 billion a year earlier, according to investment adviser disclosure forms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. ...
Familiar front-runners; Fixed income: Domestic high yield still rules the roost, but how long wil that trend continue?(Special Report: Top-performing managers)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Vince Calio Domestic high-yield bond managers generally continued to return the best performance among fixed-income managers in the 12 months ended March 31. Eight of the top 10 performing fixed-income managers for the year ended March 31 were high-yield bond ...
Changes Ahead.
May 15, 2006 ... Sedgwick County Deferred Compensation Plan, Wichita, Kan., issued an RFP for a consultant for its $25 million 457 plan, according to the plan's website. Iris Baker, purchasing director, did not return calls requesting further information. The RFP is available online at ...
Missouri Local Government Picks PanAgora.(management)(Brief article)
May 15, 2006 ... JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System hired PanAgora Asset Management to run a $165 million global equity multialpha portfolio, said Brian Collett, chief investment officer. The strategy combines stock selection with country-specific overlay to use ...
Pennsylvania bill could corral all police plans; Lagging investment performance of smaller funds at root of consolidation legislation.(retirement plans)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Mark Bruno HARRISBURG, Pa. - A movement is underfoot in Pennsylvania to consolidate hundreds of the state's police pension plans and billions of dollars in assets into the $30 billion Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System. The state's Public ...
CalPERS to consider 11 for international equity pool.(News Briefs)(New York Stock Exchange Inc.)(Mellon Financial Corp.)(Peter Irving)
May 15, 2006 ... SACRAMENTO, Calif. - CalPERS staff recommended seven active developed market equity managers and four active emerging market equity managers for two new pre-approved lists of managers from which officials at the $210 billion system can select. Staff of the $210 billion ...
At attention: Boot camp for sales champs.(services of investment advisers)(Brief article)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Douglas Appell "Drop and give me 10 ... sales calls?'' Well, maybe not, but attendees of the investment management sales and marketing "boot camp'' being run by a handful of industry veterans in July should expect an intense experience, said John F ....
Slight uptick in Roth 401(k) adoption a nice surprise.(News)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Jenna Gottlieb Roth 401(k) adoption rates in the first quarter were slightly higher than many executives at several top defined contribution providers anticipated. William Shaw, senior vice president and director of marketing at MFS Investment Management, ...
Sector ETF expense ratios falling; But after cutting fees by up to 26%, BGI's offerings are twice as much as SSgA's.(News)(exchange-traded sector funds)(Barclays Global Investors Ltd.)(State Street Global Advisors Inc.)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Cecily O'Connor Expense ratios for exchange-traded sector funds have dropped as much as 26% this year as industry expansion and competition drive down cost. Barclays Global Investors, San Francisco, with $207 billion in ETF assets under management as of May ...
Stock exchange mergers spark fears of `friction'; Reduced competition could build barriers, raise costs.(News)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Gregory Crawford Some institutional traders and brokers fear growing global consolidation of stock exchanges could decrease competition and increase trading costs. "The real concern about consolidation is that there will be less competition and more ...
KKR gets set to tap DC plans; Initial offering may lead to increased pool of investors.(Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Company management and sales and earnings)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., a pioneer in investing defined benefit plan assets in buyouts, is using an IPO to create a new private equity vehicle that could be offered to defined contribution plan participants. Mega-buyout firms like KKR ...
At Deadline; CalPERS eyes overlay.(management of financial services)
May 15, 2006 ... CalPERS staff proposed starting a $100 million internally managed active currency overlay program, following two years of discussion. The funding source hasn't been determined, said Eric Busay, portfolio manager, global fixed income, for the $210 billion pension fund. Staff ...
`The next Bridgewater'; AQR is taking the institutional world by storm; goes from $1 billion to $25 billion in eight years.(sales and earnings of AQR Capital Management LLC )
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Christine Williamson GREENWICH, Conn. - In just eight years, AQR Capital Management LLC has become a darling of the institutional world, with $25 billion under management to prove it. AQR's assets under management grew 65% last year, to $20 billion. Last ...
Federated bulks up on equities; MDT deal seen as boosting firm known for money market funds.(sales and earnings of investment companies)
May 15, 2006; ... Byline: Douglas Appell PITTSBURGH - Federated Investors Inc.'s purchase of quantitative investment shop MDT Advisors will help the firm meet a long-standing goal of balancing its money market-heavy business with more equity assets, market watchers say. "It's not a ...
International/Global Manager Survey Due.(News)
May 15, 2006 ... Pensions & Investments' 2006 International/Global Money Managers Survey is due May 19. Firms running U.S. institutional, tax-exempt assets in accounts with international or global mandates, or ...