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New York TRS Adds More PE, RE

May 7, 2008 – The $105 billion New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) has beefed up its holdings in private equity and real estate. At its meeting last month, the board voted to commit up to $50 million in Caltius Partners IV, up to $175 in CS Strategic Partners IV, up to E50 million in Hutton Collins Capital Partners III and up to $75 million in ABRY Partners VI. The board also approved investments of up to $100 million…

• CalPERS' Read to Leave CIO Post
• Equity Searches Abound in Cincinnati
• Texas TRS Hires for Partnership Program
• New CEO Named at SSgA

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Features

The Thirst for Commodities

May 19, 2008 – Institutional investors are traditionally a conservative bunch by nature, and that has meant that for them that commodities have not been a natural fit in their portfolio. But a relatively stationary equities market, a continuing credit crisis, and a weakening dollar, is now changing how those institutions think about everything from oil to corn. 'You are definitely seeing more institutional interest in commodities,' said Jeffrey Haber, controller of The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that focuses on health care issues. Haber said two things are driving the trend towards commodities: a desire for better returns than can be had from equities, and concerns about inflation.

Chi-Town Teachers Prep For Search

May 19, 2008 – The $12.9 billion Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund (CTPF) is gearing up to search for an emerging markets real estate manager to complement its recently hired managers for European and Asian real estate, said Kevin Huber, the plan's executive director. He said that the board will look for a firm to oversee $25 million in emerging markets over the summer. The Townsend Group will assist the plan with the search.

LDI on Tap in Canada and the U.S.

May 12, 2008 – MolsonCoors and Nortel said LDI is on tap in both their Canadian and U.S. defined benefit plans, but their cross-border implementations reveal markedly different investment brews. Development of liability-driven investment strategies in the two countries has been influenced by individual plan designs, availability of product and regulatory requirements.

Vermont Hits the Market for Managers

May 12, 2008 – The Vermont Pension Investment Committee (VPIC) is on the hunt for investment managers to join its economically targeted investment (ETI) program. The VPIC oversees $3.3 billion for the state's employee, teacher and municipal employee retirement systems.

Alameda County Plan Plots PE Foray

May 5, 2008 – The Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association (ACERA) will carve out a first-time allocation to private equity by pulling back on domestic equity, fixed-income and real estate investments, according to a new asset allocation mix adopted by the $5.2 billion California retirement plan. The new targets call for a 10% allocation to private equity and alternative investments, while decreasing the fund's U.S. equity stake to 37%-down 4% from a 41% target-its fixed-income portfolio down 4% to 24%, and pulling back on real estate by 3% to hit a 6% target. No word yet on whether the plan will hire external consultants or new fund managers to manage the alternative investments portfolio. Officials at ACERA could not be reached for comment at press time.

Oklahoma Plans Carve New Asset Mix

May 5, 2008 – The $6.5 billion Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) and the $240 million Oklahoma Uniform Retirement System for Justices and Judges (URSJJ) have tweaked their asset allocations, said CIO Kirk Stebbins. Stebbins said that at the most recent board meeting, the investment committee agreed to adopt a strategic allocation of 36% fixed-income, 35% large-cap domestic equity, 24% international equity and 5% small-cap domestic equity for the plans.

Babson Enters Distressed Debt

April 28, 2008 – Though Cliff Noreen, vice chairman of Babson Capital Management said that he doesn't make acquisitions based upon short-term considerations like market timing, the firm probably couldn't have timed the acquisition of Murray Capital Management's (MCM) distressed debt management unit better.

CalPERS Adds Rules to Go Green

April 28, 2008 – The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has approved new guidelines that expand the system's corporate governance principles in regards to environmental disclosure and diversity of corporate boards. The purpose of the revamped guidelines is to get companies to both disclose climate risks and act upon them, and use the 'Corporate Governance Checklist' developed by environmental watchdog Ceres.

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