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Alternative Investments Asset Class

News

Madoff Receives 150-Year Sentence

Bernie Madoff, the mastermind behind a massive multi-billion dollar billion Ponzi scheme, a fraud measured by some to have reached $65 billion, was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum allowed for this white-collar crime, by Judge Denny Chin yesterday in a Manhattan courtroom. When Chin announced the sentence the reaction from the courtroom was a round of applause, according to reports. Madoff, who pleaded guilty to the fraud in March, apologized to his…

New Mexico Union Sues Austin Capital

The National Education Association of New Mexico has filed a lawsuit against Austin Capital Management (ACM) on behalf of the state's Educational Retirement Board (ERB) and State Investment Council (SIC). According to Austin-American Statesmen, the lawsuit was filed in state district court in Santa Fe and alleges that ACM failed to perform due diligence on its investments with Madoff Securities. As a result, the ERB and SIC plans lost as much as $25 million. ACM has felt…

Drum Capital Hires Managing Director

Drum Capital Hires Managing Director Duran Curis has joined Drum Capital Management as a managing director responsible for diligence, oversight, manager selection and portfolio construction of the firm's Special Situation Partner Funds. Curis joins Drum from HRJ Capital, where he worked with that firm's special opportunities funds, also as a managing director. Prior to that, he served as managing director and head of LGT Capital Partners' U.S. office, and also spent time at Pacific Corporate Group (PCG).…

Coast Hires Hedge Fund Vet

Roy Callahan has joined Coast Asset Management as a portfolio manager and member of the firm's investment committee. He served as director of research at the firm from 1994-2000. Callahan was most recently with California-based hedge fund of funds manager Stratos Advisors. He has also worked at Financial Risk Management where he served on the investment and portfolio management committees. Prior stints also include a proprietary trader for GNP Commodities and a VP at Citibank where he…

Alaska Plan Adopts New Portfolio Targets

The $14.5 billion Alaska Retirement Management Board (ARMB) slightly tweaked its asset targets at a meeting last week. The changes will take affect in the fiscal year beginning July 1. According to The Juneau Empire, the new asset allocation has less of the ARMB's assets being invested in absolute return strategies, as the board has cut that particular target by 1%. The plan will diversify its remaining assets in the space among more hedge fund managers, however. Additionally,…

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Articles

Iowa PERS Makes Portfolio Changes

The Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS) has approved increases in its allocations to long-only enhanced equity index strategies and to global macro for use in a portable alpha strategies, said Karl Koch, CIO with the $16.8 billion plan. 'RFPs for the global macro and the long-only enhanced equity index mandates will be issued sometime late summer, after August 1,' he said. Koch said the plan's consultants with Wilshire Associates would be assisting with the…

Arizona Safety Adds on Three

The Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) made commitments to three alternative investment funds this week. Jim Hacking, PSPRS administrator said that the board approved investments of up to $40 each in the Charlesbank Equity Fund VII and the Centerbridge Special Credit Partners. The Charlesbank investment, which was recommended by consultant StepStone Group, is a middle market private equity fund, while the Centerbridge fund invests in distressed securities and was recommended by NEPC. Also approved was…

Oklahoma Teachers Prep for FoF Search

The Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma (TRS) will issue an RFP for a private equity fund-of-funds manager, said Joe Ezzell, assistant executive secretary at the $7.1 billion plan. The size of the mandate involved is not yet certain at this time. Ezzell said the search is being conducted to replace the plan's previous private equity manager, Aldus Equity Partners, which was terminated in May due to its ties to a New York kick-back scheme. The RFP…

Tulare County Completes Search and Study

The Tulare County Employees' Retirement Association (TCERA) has completed an asset/liability study and as a result will up the ante on its allocations to private equity and hedge funds, and make maiden investments in TIPS and emerging markets. David Kehler, administrator of the $1 billion plan, said that the board will look at the individual asset classes over the next few months to determine the actual sizes of the new and increased allocations. This will help…

San Antonio 911 Releases Advisors

The board of the San Antonio Fire & Police Pension Fund removed two consultants from its roster last month. Aldus Equity was terminated as the plan's private equity advisor, and Consulting Services Group CSG as its alternatives consultant due to their ties to a New York kickback scandal. Further details could not be ascertained, as calls to Warren Schott, executive director and CIO with the $2.1 billion Texas plan, were not returned by press time. According to…

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