Pensions & Investments back issues from February 2009:
Fixed income shops bulking up; Expected business surge prompts acquisitions, expansions.(Money Management)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Thao Hua Money managers are strengthening their fixed-income teams through expansion, restructuring and acquisitions following last year's calamitous credit markets. Growing demand for fixed income by pension funds and poor performance by many bond managers ...
Disclosure gap causing execs grief.(Defined Contribution)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Doug Halonen The Bush administration's failure to win final approval of new fee disclosure regulations for defined contribution plans could turn into a major headache for executives. That's because existing Department of Labor regulations require them to ...
Tackling conflicts abuses.(Editorials)
Feb 09, 2009 ... The Securities and Exchange Commission took a lot of heat from Congress last week over its failure to respond to numerous warnings that Bernard Madoff allegedly was running a giant Ponzi scheme. The failure reportedly cost investors, including some institutions, at least $50 billion. ...
Tradition to be king for plans in 2009; Mainstream asset classes, especially fixed income, expected to draw most searches.(Consultants)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Jennifer Byrd Investment consultants in the U.S. and Canada expect searches in traditional asset classes, especially core and core-plus fixed income, to surge in 2009. Searches for alternative fund managers, meanwhile, are expected to slow, according to the ...
Infrastructure club shrinking; Those with available capital, experienced operators should prevail.(Private Equity)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius The small list of infrastructure investment managers is expected to shrink this year. Whether the firm is a winner or loser depends in large part on fund structure and timing: * Firms with mostly publicly traded offerings are ...
Currency hedging expected to rise; Global volatility strengthens case for investors to offset foreign exchange risk.(Portfolio Strategies)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Drew Carter Global institutional investors are poised to hedge their currency risk in the face of dramatically increased volatility in the foreign-exchange market, experts say. "What we have been seeing more recently is people asking about hedging,'' said ...
Consultants alter 10-year assumptions; Stocks, private equity, real estate, expected to lead performance for the next 10 years.(Investing)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Robert Porterfield Domestic and international equities, private equity and real estate likely will be the best performers over the next 10 to 15 years, if annual capital market assumptions by a number of consulting firms hit their mark. The consensus among ...
SocGen breaks up management business.(Money Management)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Thao Hua One year after the trading scandal that cost Paris-based Societe Generale SA e4.9 billion ($6.4 billion) and ushered in a dramatic overhaul of the global financial industry, the bank's fund management division is itself being dismantled. Societe ...
MassPRIM cuts absolute-return managers.(Briefs)(Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management board terminated hedge fund-of-funds managers Austin Capital Management and Ivy Asset Management. Austin, which ran a $130 million portfolio for PRIM's portable-alpha program, was dropped by the $37.8 billion Boston-based ...
Tennessee system hires private equity chief.(People)(appointments)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Lamar Villere was named director of the new private equity investment program at the $25 billion Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, Nashville, effective in mid-February, confirmed CIO Michael Brakebill. The position is new. Mr. Villere will be in charge of implementing a ...
Park here to help pension fund; Line 'em up.(Frontlines)(Brief article)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. The $900 million Municipal Pension Fund for the City of Pittsburgh Employees could get a much-needed cash injection from Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's proposal to lease the city's 11 public parking garages. In a news release, Mr. Ravenstahl said ...
A future full of change; Plan executives ready to apply new lessons learned from a year of market devastation.(Special Report: Defined Contribution)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. The devastation defined contribution plans suffered in last year's market mayhem is expected to lead to major changes in plan design and asset allocation, as well as increased emphasis on retirement income, industry professionals say. ...
Money managers survey under way.(News)
Feb 09, 2009 ... The Pensions & Investments money managers survey for year-end 2008 is due March 6. Firms investing assets for U.S.-based, tax-exempt institutions, such as retirement plan sponsors, endowments and foundations, are ...
AENA Pension Fund.(Hirings)(briefs )
Feb 09, 2009 ... AENA Pension Fund, The Hague, Netherlands, hired PGGM as fiduciary manager of the e20 million ($26 million) fund, according to PGGM spokesman David Uitdenbogaard. The mandate is PGGM's first fiduciary management appointment since the asset management company was spun off in 2008 ...
Overlays could be the answer to restoring portfolio balance; Up to the challenge.(Frontlines)(Brief article)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: ISABELLE CLARY Broad bond indexes have outperformed equities amid the financial crisis, leaving many portfolios in need of rebalancing, a true challenge in difficult market conditions. Not to worry, a simple solution might be portfolio overlays, a low-cost strategy using ...
NEW OTHER VIEWS COMMENTARIES ON PIONLINE.COM:.(Editorials)(Editorial)(Brief article)
Feb 09, 2009 ... * Ann Combs, principal in Vanguard Group's strategic retirement consulting group and former assistant secretary of labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, defends the 401(k) system, even as the massive drop in the financial markets worldwide batters participants' ...
Federal Thrift becomes top dog; $197 billion U.S. government plan passes CalPERS as nation's largest.(Retirement Plans)(California. Public Employees' Retirement System)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Doug Halonen There's a new No. 1 among U.S. retirement plans. The Federal Thrift Savings Plan, Washington, with $197.3 billion as of Jan. 31, has eclipsed the California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, which reported $173.9 billion as of Feb. ...
Aon freezes DB plan.(At Deadline)(Aon Consulting Inc.)(defined benefit)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Aon is freezing its defined benefit pension plan, ending contributions to a defined contribution plan it set up in 2004 and enhancing its 401(k) plan. As of April 1, employees in Aon's pension plan will stop earning benefits; the plan was closed to new employees in January 2004 ....
Hedge fund scientist gives back to university; $10 million gift.(Frontlines)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Jennifer Byrd Henry Laufer, chief scientist at hedge fund Renaissance Technologies Corp., and his wife, Marsha, have donated $10 million to Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y. Most of the money, $8 million, will go to establish a new interdisciplinary research ...
Good news sparse in manager figures; Only one publicly traded firm boasts asset increase for year.(Money Management)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Douglas Appell Money manager results for the fourth quarter managed to fall short of abysmally low expectations, and some analysts predict further cost cutting and head-count reductions could be looming. With equity markets tumbling 20% during the three months ...
Changes Ahead.(briefs)(Plymouth County Retirement Association)(Wainwright Investment Counsel)(Merseyside Pension Fund)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Plymouth County (Mass.) Retirement Association is searching for a general consultant, confirmed executive director Bill Farmer. The contract of the $500 million system's current consultant, Wainwright Investment Counsel, expires Dec. 31, 2009. Wainwright will be given the opportunity to ...
Macy's to reduce 401(k) match for 2009.(Special Report: Defined Contribution)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Cincinnati-based Macy's Inc. plans to cut the amount of its 401(k) matching contribution to its $2.1 billion DC plan in 2009, confirmed spokesman Jim Sluzewski. Mr. Sluzewski declined to provide specific information on the reduction or how much the retailer currently ...
Plan could boost financials, but don't expect rally.(Investing)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Isabelle Clary A plan by President Barack Obama's administration to guarantee or possibly buy illiquid assets might give some financial stocks a bit of a boost, but a true sector rally is far from around the corner, experts said. Instead, any additional ...
Wounded warriors learn market at Drexel Hamilton; Financial rehab.(Frontlines)(Brief article)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Isabelle Clary Six wounded servicemen will soon master a new trade at Philadelphia broker Drexel Hamilton LLC under a training program offering to give injured veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars an entry to Wall Street. The Wall Street Warfighters ...
Global fixed income deserves a hard look.(News)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Michael Hasenstab As financial markets experience unprecedented volatility, investors increasingly are questioning which asset classes can offer genuine diversification with the potential for enhanced risk-adjusted returns. An actively managed global fixed-income ...
Corrections & Clarifications.(Corrections)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Total employee benefit assets of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System were $69.619 billion as of Sept. 30, of which $69.378 billion was defined benefit. Incorrect numbers were contained in the fund's response to Pensions & ...
Investment staff part of 25% cut at Harvard Management.(Endowments)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Douglas Appell Harvard Management Co., which oversees the $29 billion endowment fund at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., will shed roughly 25% of its staff over the next few months, spokesman John Longbrake confirmed. Industry sources, who declined to be ...
New Orleans fund sues UBS over stock fall.(News)(Brief article)
Feb 09, 2009 ... New Orleans Employees' Retirement System filed a class-action lawsuit Jan. 30 against UBS, claiming a tax-evasion investigation of the company sent its stock value plunging by 60% since May 2008. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether some of UBS' U.S. clients ...
Ex-Secret Service agent has new mission; Due diligence.(Frontlines)(Brief article)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: CHRISTINE WILLIAMSON Worried about due diligence in a post-Madoff world? David Fisher may be your best defense. This former U.S. Secret Service agent spent a significant portion of his 24-year career protecting U.S. presidents and vice presidents, their families and ...
Listed private equity garners interest; Hot topic.(Frontlines)(Brief article)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius Listed private equity rules, some investors say. Twenty-seven of 100 private equity investors across Europe are sold on listed private equity vehicles, according to a survey. Nearly 92% of the 27 said in the survey that they intend ...
In from the start; Deepak Gurnani is still enthralled with all the complexities of hedge funds, and has definite ideas about the state of the industry.(Face to Face)(Industry overview)
Feb 09, 2009 ... Byline: Christine Williamson Deepak B. Gurnani is one of those money managers whose face lights up when he talks about the art and science of managing hedge fund portfolios. He is a man with strongly held convictions about the hedge fund industry, particularly the portfolio that ...
'Smart money' taking its lumps, too; Average losses top 20% for the first part of fiscal 2009; big and small funds fall in tandem.(Endowments)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Timothy Inklebarger Endowments, often called the smart money - intelligent, swift investors who take advantage of the latest and hottest investment trends - have been unable to avoid the crisis sweeping across capital markets and as a result have suffered a plunge in ...
Pension funds stung by securities lending mess.(Asset Servicing)
Feb 09, 2009; ... Byline: Christine Williamson As many as 90% of U.S. pension funds and many defined contribution plans have been badly sideswiped by valuation problems in the enhanced cash collateral pools that back securities lending activities. Industry sources said most retirement ...
Themed programs stand out in Eddys; Campaigns with games, movie premiere, custom branding rank among this year's award winners.(Defined Contribution)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. Increasing employee contributions and deferral rates and introducing target-date funds were central goals of many of the winning campaigns in the Eddy Awards. The awards, sponsored by Pensions & Investments, were presented Feb. 9 at the 17th ...
Holmes, Salisbury recipients of Lillywhite Award; Achievements honored.(Frontlines)(Kenneth L. Holmes)(Dallas L. Salisbury)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Jennifer Byrd Kenneth L. Holmes and Dallas L. Salisbury were named recipients of the EBRI Lillywhite Award. The award is named for pension investment pioneer Ray Lillywhite and honors outstanding lifetime contributions to America's economic security. It was presented ...
DB relief for active plans in the works.(Legislation)(Defined benefit plans)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Doug Halonen Corporations might get relief from stringent pension-law funding requirements - but with a big string attached that some experts see as a step toward a mandatory retirement system. Under a proposal now being considered by senior Democratic ...
Taking on desert heat all for a good cause; Grueling race.(Frontlines)(Brief article)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Thao Hua Ed King and Guy Steel are escaping the financial turmoil by heading for the desert. The founding partners at Carnegie Consulting, a London-based specialist money management recruiting firm, are planning to participate in the Marathon des Sables from ...
Long and short of it; Fixed income: Managers in long-term bonds score the best returns for year.(Special Report: Top Performing Managers)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Rob Kozlowski Long-term bonds were again the top-performing bond strategies as a worsening economic environment gave advantages to investors in those strategies for the year ended Dec. 31, according to Morningstar Inc.'s separate account/collective investment trust fund ...
European plans on long-term equity diet.(International)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Thao Hua European pension funds are reducing their equity allocations at the fastest pace since 2001 following the pop of the tech-stock bubble, as markets have slashed stock values. But don't expect pension funds to restore equities to their pre-crisis level. ...
Industry bracing for round of congressional regulation.(Hedge Funds)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Christine Williamson Hedge fund regulation is coming. Legislators and regulators clearly are focused on how to regulate hedge funds in the aftermath of 2008's credit crunch, stock market plunge and global financial system meltdown, the blame for which has to ...
Managers slower to accept reality; Pension execs quick to devalue portfolios while managers just beginning grim task.(Real Estate)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius Pension executives are coming to terms with the reality of a down real estate market, but their managers seem to be just starting to come out of denial. Pension executives aren't waiting for their investment managers to come to terms with what ...
Equities: Shorting the market key for equity managers in 2008; cash, gold do well, too.(Special Report: Top Performing Managers)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Jennifer Byrd Strategies high in cash and gold holdings and those that aggressively shorted the market topped equity manager results for 2008 in Morningstar Inc.'s separate account/collective investment trust fund database. There was no clear pattern among ...
7 lessons to draw from the credit crisis; Learn from mistakes.(Frontlines)(Brief article)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: DREW CARTER Seven deadly "sins'' of systematic analytical errors helped cause the credit bubble, according to Tim Bond, London-based head of global asset allocation at Barclays Capital. "The human mind is a great thing, but it is circumscribed by a ...
Stimulus bill may help CalPERS; U.S. infrastructure spending to spur public-private partnerships.(Investing)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius The $787 billion economic stimulus package could provide CalPERS and other large pension funds with investment opportunities for their new infrastructure allocations. Staff for the $171.3 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, ...
Bill might hamper hedging tools; Custom-tailored contracts could be curbed by OTC legislation.(Derivatives)(Over the counter)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Isabelle Clary The proposed legislative overhaul of over-the-counter derivatives markets might deprive institutional investors of some valuable customized hedging tools or could shift the U.S. OTC business offshore. The House Agriculture Committee on Feb. 12 ...
Giving up the Ritz: Resorts lose to less flashy locales; But some organizations stick to previously planned venues.(Economy)(Ritz-Carlton Naples)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Doug Halonen Conspicuous consumption is definitely out, at least when it comes to meetings and conferences. For example, executives at the Financial Services Roundtable confirmed they had changed the venue for a long-planned meeting for financial industry ...
Money can't buy value.(General Motors Corp.)(Ford Motor Co.)(Editorial)(Brief article)
Feb 23, 2009 ... It's admirable General Motors Corp. is trying to stay out of bankruptcy, but the price the federal government will pay is far more than what the company is worth. Indeed, the more federal aid GM has received, the more GM's market value has declined. By contrast, Ford Motor Co., ...
Changes Ahead.(Briefs)
Feb 23, 2009 ... Kansas Public Employees Retirement System is searching for one international equity manager, confirmed CIO Robert "Vince'' Smith. The amount of money the manager will run wasn't immediately available. The actively managed portfolio will be benchmarked to the MSCI ACWI Ex-U.S. index, ...
Market fiasco puts premium on saving.(Defined Contribution)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. Defined contribution plan professionals say getting participants to save enough to ensure an adquate income at retirement is more critical than ever because of the market meldown that wiped out huge chunks of DC plan balances. At Pensions & ...
GM's woes might hit its pension funds too.(Pension Fund)(General Motors Corp.)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr Even if General Motors Corp.'s recapitalization efforts succeed and it avoids a bankruptcy filing, the company still might face a bigger pension bill down the road. The automaker last week told the Obama administration it needs $16.6 billion in ...
Mercer-Callan execs praise merger, but some see flaws.(Consultants)(Callan Associates Inc.)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Douglas Appell Executives from Mercer Inc. and Callan Associates Inc. say their pending merger will spawn the undisputed heavyweight of U.S. investment consulting, but competitors predict the giant could be playing more defense than offense for the next few years. ...
AT DEADLINE: $550 million to plan.(Late News)
Feb 23, 2009 ... Bristol-Myers Squibb expects to contribute a total of $550 million to its $4.1 billion U.S. pension plan this year, according to the company's 10-K filing. According to the filing, the company contributed $400 million to the U.S. plan in January. In 2008, the company contributed ...
P-card delivers hedge info quickly; Instant info.(Frontlines)(Brief article)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Christine Williamson Imagine getting instant access to hedge fund manager data delivered to your desktop. There's no more struggling to download a gigantic data file with the new P-card. The P-card is like a v-card, those e-mail business cards used so commonly these days ...
Illinois Teachers pulls plug on ING; Organizational, performance issues cited in dropping bond mandate.(Pension Funds)(Teachers' Retirement System)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Christine Williamson Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, Springfield, terminated ING Investment Management, which ran $450 million in core-plus fixed income, was terminated for organizational and performance concerns. ING had been on watch since May ...
Lost horizon.(money market funds)(Editorial)
Feb 23, 2009 ... At a time of extreme market turmoil when defined contribution plan participants are seeking safety to preserve their principal, mutual fund organizations are closing or restricting contributions into their Treasury money market funds, regarded as the ulitmate safe investment option. ...
Stick with currency strategy, Brandes says; Holding steady.(Frontlines)(Brandes Investment Partners Inc.)(Brief article)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: DREW CARTER This is the wrong time for institutional investors to change currency strategies, said Barry Gillman, director of portfolio strategies at Brandes Investment Partners, San Diego. Although some currency hedges and carry trades recently have hurt ...
Talent could bypass TARP recipients; Pay limits hurt morale at bank subs while aiding independents.(Money Management)(Troubled Asset Relief Program)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: Drew Carter New federal pay restrictions on banks that accept TARP funds could hurt efforts at their money management units to attract or retain personnel. Banks with sizable money management arms that have taken money from the government's Troubled Asset ...
Many don't want to look at their 401(k) right now; Hiding from reality.(Frontlines)(Survey)(Brief article)
Feb 23, 2009; ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. It seems ignorance is bliss for some 401(k) investors. More than a quarter of middle-income workers said they had not opened their fourth-quarter statements, according to a survey by investment adviser I-Pension LLC, Newton, Mass. Phil ...
News Briefs: Alcoa sees big jump in pension contributions.(Briefs)
Feb 23, 2009 ... Alcoa Inc., Pittsburgh, expects to contribute at least $140 million to its pension plan in 2009, according to the annual report filed with the SEC. The company estimates minimum contributions for 2010 will be $590 million, $600 million for 2011, $530 million for 2012 and $510 ...