Pensions & Investments back issues from April 2009:
Corrections & Clarifications.
Apr 06, 2009 ... * The last two sentences in the Page 1 article on Barclays in the March 23 issue were inaccurate. The sentences should have read: "As part of that deal, Barclays officials agreed that if they issued ordinary stocks at less than 153 pence per share before June 30, 2009, convertible notes ...
Lehman Brothers could rise again as a money manager.
Apr 06, 2009 ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius When Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. emerges from bankruptcy expected within two years it could be as an asset management firm. "Essentially we've built a multiasset class investment management firm to manage the assets of the Lehman estate,'' ...
New fund to pair bank with Islamic charity.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: DREW CARTER An investment fund, expected to exceed $3 billion, is being formed by a partnership between sovereign merchant bank BMB Group, Brunei, and International Zakat Organization, a charitable foundation based in Kuala Lumpur. The IZO was designed to ...
Survey: Few measure counterparty risk; Leverage, liquidity measurements also seen as lacking.
Apr 06, 2009 ... Byline: Gregory Crawford Most pension funds do not measure counterparty risk, six months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., a survey by Pensions & Investments and Capital Market Risk Advisors shows. The P&I/CMRA survey found that pension funds appear ...
Liontrust casts lot with team approach; Firm seeks to rebound after seeing 45% asset loss since star portfolio managers quit.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Drew Carter To say that London-based boutique Liontrust Asset Management PLC is at an inflection point would be to put it mildly. Since the firm announced the resignations of its two star U.K. equity portfolio managers in January, assets under management ...
HF managers train at boot camp.(Conference news)(Brief article)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: CHRISTINE WILLIAMSON Snap to attention, hedge fund managers! That was the order of the day from Sean Drake, the drill sergeant at Hedge Fund Marketing Boot Camp, a one-day workshop conducted March 31 in New York. Mr. Drake is a third-party marketer who now is ...
Hirings.
Apr 06, 2009 ... Aegon Asset Management Aegon Asset Management's Dutch operations hired BGI to manage about e5 billion ($6.6 billion) in passive equity strategies, according to an Aegon spokesman. Aegon shifted the management style of several equity portfolios to an alpha/beta ...
Fixing a broken system; Pension executives taking a more subjective approach after being burned by an overreliance on models.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Isabelle Clary In Steven Spielberg's sci-fi thriller "Minority Report,'' set in the year 2054, precognition appeared the perfect system to stop crimes before they happened. But as Justice Department agent Danny Witwer played by Colin Farrell pointed out, "There's a ...
Where are the regulators?(Brief article)
Apr 06, 2009 ... Where has the SEC been in pursuing funds of funds, other money managers and consultants that allegedly placed client money with Bernard L. Madoff for investment? The question is prompted by an order issued by the Connecticut Superior Court in Bridgeport on March 30 temporarily ...
Potential PBGC problem: $13.5 billion GM liability.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Barry B. Burr A General Motors Corp. bankruptcy could become the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s biggest nightmare. That's because the automaker could dump as much as $13.5 billion in unfunded pension liabilities onto the PBGC the largest ever from a single ...
Plans look to add capital preservation, survey shows.
Apr 06, 2009 ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. Nearly two-thirds of consultants said their defined contribution plan clients will add either a Treasury or government money market fund to emphasize capital preservation and risk management, according to a new survey from Pacific Investment Management ...
Billions in AIG bonanza; Money managers may gain if troubled insurer outsources its general account.
Apr 06, 2009 ... Byline: Thao Hua Officials at American International Group Inc. could outsource tens of billions of dollars in general account and balance sheet assets to external managers, sources familiar with the matter say. The majority of AIG's general account asset pool, which ...
Changes Ahead.(Laura Ecklar has been appointed at Ohio State Teachers Retirement System)(Maria Smith has been named at Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation)(Washington State Investment Board)
Apr 06, 2009 ... Ohio State Teachers Retirement System, Columbus, issued an RFP for an investment consultant, confirmed Laura Ecklar, spokeswoman for the $52.5 billion system. The contract of current investment consultant Russell Investments expires Dec. 31; Russell informed the board in September it will ...
For one, '08 not so bad; Federated Investors CEO sees manager's business grow as many investors sought safe haven in company's money market funds.(Company overview)
Apr 06, 2009 ... Byline: Douglas Appell J. Christopher Donahue, president and CEO of Federated Investors Inc., is a member of an exclusive fraternity: money management executives who can look back fondly on 2008. Pittsburgh-based Federated, best known for its money market funds, had been as chic ...
N.Y. State Common takes direct approach.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Christine Williamson The New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, has nearly completed an overhaul of its $5.5 billion hedge fund portfolio that will, eventually, invest 80% of assets directly in hedge funds and 20% in niche funds of funds flip-flopping the ...
Speculation swirls over why the Mercer-Callan deal died.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Douglas Appell Mercer Inc. and Callan Associates Inc.'s proposed marriage, announced with fanfare on Feb. 17, has devolved into a guessing game on why the firms abruptly killed their engagement a scant six weeks later. Industry observers who suspect Mercer ...
Illinois Teachers chief to get boot; Reform bill OK'd as former governor is indicted on corruption charge.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Christine Williamson The three-year-long pay-to-play scandal revolving around the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois culminated last week in five felony indictments. Among those indicted: former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich. On the same day the ...
All talk, little action about hedge funds; Leaders of G-20 nations play blame game but end meeting with only vague guidelines.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Drew Carter Hedge fund experts shrugged off the results of the Group of 20 meeting in London on April 2, saying the results were expected and manageable. The G-20 industrialized and developing nations failed to deliver anything new in the way of regulations, ...
Systemic risk? Not us, say private equity firms.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Doug Halonen An Obama administration proposal to regulate alternative investment managers has private equity and venture capital executives scrambling to distinguish their operations from those of hedge funds, which some analysts argue played a larger role in the ...
M&As could be blooming this spring; Columbia, Delaware join iShares as financial giants put units on block.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Douglas Appell Investment bankers say Columbia Management and Delaware Investments have become the latest money management arms of financial conglomerates to be put up for sale in recent weeks, auguring a spring thaw in the industry's merger and acquisition pipeline. ...
Fidelity executive calls it like he sees it.(Conference news)(Brief article)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: DREW CARTER Anthony Bolton, London-based president-investments at FIL Investments International, a division of Fidelity Investments, said he's generally pro-quantitative easing, in a response to a ...
At Deadline.(Imperial County Employees' Retirement System Vs. JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.)(Northern Trust Global Investments Vs. Exxon Mobil Corp.)
Apr 06, 2009 ... Two banks sued JPMorgan Chase Bank and Northern Trust Global Investments are being sued in separate actions over investments of cash collateral from securities-lending pools. The $488 million Imperial County Employees' Retirement System filed a lawsuit against ...
Here comes the judge.(Jerry N. Jones vs. Harris Associates LP.)
Apr 06, 2009 ... For the second time in a year, the U.S. Supreme Court is taking a case of importance to 401(k) participants. The Supreme Court's involvement is better news for defined contribution plan participants than for employers and service providers. The latest case Jones vs. Harris ...
Borzi strong on DC fee disclosure issue; Annuities, DB concerns also on radar for nominee to lead EBSA.(Phyllis C. Borzi)(Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. Phyllis C. Borzi will take a tougher line on defined contribution plan fee disclosure and advice issues, taking on the powerful mutual fund industry, if she is confirmed as assistant secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration. ...
Revamp of GSAM hits institutional business.(Company overview)
Apr 06, 2009 ... Byline: Thao Hua Goldman Sachs Asset Management is rebuilding itself, but the restructuring is taking a painful toll on its institutional business. Changes in top management announced 10 months ago were meant to help expand New York-based Goldman Sachs & Co.'s asset ...
Mesirow exec gets his Bard on.(Lester N. Coney)(Victory Gardens Theater)(Interview)(Brief article)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Christine Williamson Lester N. Coney has moved to the other side of the stage curtain, at least for one night. On May 1, Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater is scheduled to present a 10-minute play penned by Mr. Coney as part of the 19th annual Chicago Stories ...
Emerging markets attracting interest; 1 in 3 investors expect to move into funds for first time, survey says.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius A little more than one-third of private equity investors without exposure to emerging markets funds plan to invest in such funds within the next two years, according to a new survey conducted by Coller Capital and the Emerging Markets Private Equity ...
1 million new TSP participants?(Thrift Savings Plan)(Brief article)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: DOUG HALONEN The $191 billion Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees, which eclipsed the $173.8 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, as the nation's largest retirement plan earlier this year, could get even larger, faster if pending ...
Investors see bleak times continuing in 2009.
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius Investment managers expect the real estate market's long dark night to last well into 2010, according to the first quarter 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey. "Investors fear that the worst is not over for both the ...
We just happened to be in the neighborhood ...(Council of Institutional Investors meeting)(Brief article)
Apr 06, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius Officials from 10 pension plans want to take advantage of the Council of Institutional Investors meeting April 5-10 in Washington to call on federal officials to push a list of financial regulatory reforms they'd like the government to back. ...
Global watchdog; The new leader of the CFA Institute is using his worldly experience to help guide the membership through uncharted waters.(Chartered Financial Analyst )
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Joel Chernoff In the midst of the worst market collapse since the Great Depression, John Rogers took the helm of the CFA Institute in January, succeeding Jeffrey Diermeier. This weekend, about 1,000 portfolio managers and financial analysts from around the world will ...
iShares fund cited for having biggest footprint; Quantifying carbon.(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: BARRY B. BURR Barclays Global Investors' iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund was ranked as having the "highest carbon footprint'' among 91 major mutual and exchange-traded funds, according to a Trucost PLC report issued earlier this month. The fund's ...
Foundation works to avoid future frauds; Fool me once ...(Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities L.L.C.)(Jewish Community Foundation)(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius The $670 million Jewish Community Foundation, Los Angeles, learned something from its experiences investing in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Foundation officials made the investment as part of the $205.8 million Common ...
News Briefs.
Apr 20, 2009 ... Anheuser-Busch InBev to put plan on ice Anheuser-Busch InBev North America, St. Louis, plans to freeze its $1.8 billion pension plan for salaried employees on Jan. 1, 2012, confirmed spokeswoman Kelli Powers. A memo to employees from James Brickey, vice president of ...
Flood of business swamps Gatekeeper; Backlog grows.
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. Several school districts in Lancaster County, Pa., have reduced the role of their third-party administrator, Gatekeeper Administration and Consulting LLC, to providing only compliance services to their 403(b) programs as a result of delays in forwarding ...
World Briefs.(Statistical data)
Apr 20, 2009 ... Shell revs up alts, bond allocations Stichting Pensioenfonds Shell, The Hague, Netherlands, overhauled its investment portfolio as part of a broader set of initiatives to improve its funding ratio, according to a news release. Listed equity will be reduced to 45% of ...
Fund execs study life expectancy; Longevity risks.(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Thao Hua Worried about longevity risks? Join the club. That's what U.K. pension fund executives are doing. London-based Club Vita LLP, which was established by investment consultant Hymans Robertson LLP, provides customized longevity data so executives can ...
Hirings.
Apr 20, 2009 ... J.F. Ahern J.F. Ahern Co., Fond du Lac, Wis., hired Diversified Investment Advisors as bundled provider of its $18 million 401(k) plan, said Shannon Repka, Ahern spokeswoman. The previous bundled provider was Hartford Financial Services Group, according to Ms. Repka ....
Sarkar hired by P&I as reporter in S.F.(Pensions & Investments appointed Pia Sarkar )(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009 ... Pia Sarkar has joined Pensions & Investments as a reporter in the San Francisco office. She will cover institutional investors including the California Public Employees' Retirement System and State Teachers' Retirement System as well as investment management firms west of the ...
A guide to the new PIonline.com.(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009 ... Today, Pensions & Investments unveils a newly designed and structured website to provide readers with more information and easier accessibility. One key new feature is our news-by-topic dashboards, or mini-home ...
Southwest pilots seek the "golden chalice' of DC plans.(Southwest Airlines Co.)(defined contribution Plan)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. The Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association, Dallas, is seeking the perfect balance between DB and DC plans by adding a guaranteed income option to the pilots' 401(k) plan. John Nordin, chairman of the $1.2 billion fund's investment ...
BGI, with iShares, is looking attractive; Sale of full asset management unit could cancel out deal for ETF unit.
Apr 20, 2009 ... Byline: Douglas Appell BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Investments and Goldman Sachs & Co. are among the firms that could make a serious bid for all of BGI, market insiders say. Such a bid could trump the deal parent Barclays PLC announced April 9 to sell BGI's crown jewel ...
Corrections & clarifications.
Apr 20, 2009 ... * Mark Ugoretz, president of the ERISA Industry Committee, said he believes he will get rational enforcement of the rules from Phyllis Borzi. Mr. Ugoretz was misquoted in a ...
Plan execs warming to infrastructure pool; Federal funding adds to appeal of effort to form group to make direct investments.
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius A group of 10 public pension funds led by the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the New Jersey Investment Council wants to pool assets to invest directly in infrastructure. Making the idea even more appealing is the $150 ...
Small rays of sunshine; Bond, index leaders relatively unscathed, participants continued to contribute despite devastation that roiled the markets in 2008.
Apr 20, 2009 ... Byline: Douglas Appell The largest 25 managers of mutual funds most used by defined contribution plans ended 2008 with assets off by more than a quarter, but the year's market vortex didn't drag down all boats equally. Despite plunges of 35% to 45% for major equity ...
Active managers under microscope at Norwegian fund.
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Drew Carter Government Pension Fund-Global, Oslo, will consider axing active management, severing ties with 42 external stock and bond managers running a combined $45 billion in various mandates worldwide for the fund. Ministry of Finance officials, who ...
NY Common probes funds mentioned in indictment.(New York State Common Retirement Fund)(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, is investigating the 20 private equity and hedge funds mentioned in indictments of former CIO David Loglisci and Henry Morris, a top adviser and chief fundraiser for former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, ...
Plan participants play it cool amid crisis; Fear of doing wrong keeps employees from rash changes; inertia "a good thing'.
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: John D'Antona Jr. The ongoing market crisis hasn't changed the behavior of defined contribution plan participants, according to DC experts. Shlomo Benartzi, professor and co-chair of the behavioral decision-making group at the Anderson School, University of ...
Target-date funds could fall under ERISA; Avatar is requesting advisory opinion from the Labor Department.(Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)(Avatar Associates LLC )
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Doug Halonen Avatar Associates LLC is asking the Department of Labor for an advisory opinion that could, for the first time, subject mutual fund companies offering target-date funds to ERISA. While some attorneys say the chances that the DOL will buy Avatar's ...
What's the fi360 score?(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009 ... The fi360 Fiduciary Score is a quantitative evaluation of how well a fund meets a minimum set of due diligence criteria. The scoring system weights a fund's standing in relation to thresholds in nine areas defined by fi360 that reflect prudent fiduciary management: regulatory oversight; ...
Is bigger better?(Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund)(Indiana State Teachers' Retirement )
Apr 20, 2009 ... llinois and Louisiana each is considering merging their public employee retirement systems into a single system within each state. Consolidation appears to be a good idea, resulting in reduced investment fees and staff, while potentially improving investment returns with bigger ...
Changes Ahead.(Illinois State Universities Retirement System)
Apr 20, 2009 ... Illinois State Universities Retirement System, Champaign, is searching for at least one infrastructure manager to handle a total of about $100 million. The $9.6 billion fund will consider managers focused on traditional or core infrastructure. The RFP is available at http://www.surs.org ....
SNAPSHOT: John Rogers.(Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts)(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009 ... Current position: President and CEO, CFA Institute Size of staff: 372 Age: 47 Education: B.A. in history, Yale University; M.A., East Asian studies, Stanford University Personal: Married, two children ...
Global recession hinders reforms; Emerging market pension funds' efforts to diversify put on hold.
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Thao Hua The global economic slump is delaying much-needed reforms in emerging pension markets, according to consultants, money managers and academics. Many emerging economies had been making strides in easing investment limits to globally diversify ...
At Deadline.
Apr 20, 2009 ... Washington backs off The $67.6 billion Washington State Investment Board will "not actively pursue'' future venture capital investments and terminated venture capital consultant Pathway. Spokeswoman Liz Mendizabal said the termination "is not a statement of ...
Ireland wants to use takeover of funds to shore up finances.
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Drew Carter The Irish government has proposed taking over more than a dozen of the country's university and public agency defined benefit funds, moving them to a pay-as-you-go format common to public plans and buttressing the government's bottom line. The ...
North America set to power a resurgence; Assets to hit $2.6 trillion by 2013, report predicts.
Apr 20, 2009 ... Byline: Christine Williamson Hedge fund assets are expected to surge 160% to $2.6 trillion by the end of 2013, fueled by $800 billion of net inflows, mostly from North American institutional investors, a new research report concludes. The report, "The Hedge Fund Firm ...
CalSTRS might get bit by buyouts; Private equity portfolio's value could fall by 33%.
Apr 20, 2009 ... Byline: Arleen Jacobius CalSTRS' $17.1 billion private equity portfolio could lose at least a third of its value because three-quarters of its investment is in buyouts, insiders say. Like several other large institutional investors, the $114 billion California State ...
May want to check with IRS first; Suspending 401(k) match.(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009 ... Byline: JOHN D'ANTONA JR. Companies that suspend matching contributions to their 401(k) plans risk falling out of compliance with IRS rules, according to a Mercer report. "Distressed organizations may feel they lack sufficient time or resources to carefully consider ...
Popular blog has a new owner; LET'S TALK.(Brief article)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: CHRISTINE WILLIAMSON Do you need someone to talk to these days, now that you've had to lay off most of your hedge fund's research staff? Are you longing for a forum for your ideas about trading, markets and investment strategies? Do you just need a place, a virtual ...
CalPERS tightening its control over hedge funds.(California Public Employees' Retirement System)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Christine Williamson CalPERS is boldly going where no pension fund has gone before with hedge funds. The $175 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, will be the first pension fund to move its $4.6 billion portfolio of 26 direct ...
Fee gap data add fuel to lawmakers' fire; Smaller plans can pay five times more than larger plans, ICI says.(Investment Company Institute)
Apr 20, 2009; ... Byline: Doug Halonen Smaller DC plans can pay more than five times as much in fees as larger plans, according to a recent study of defined contribution fees by the Investment Company Institute, a finding expected to provide additional ammunition to key federal lawmakers who want ...