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New Hampshire Director Leaves Post

September 5, 2008 – Just five months into her role at the $6 billion New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS), Constance Donovan, executive director and general counsel is leaving the plan, according to local reports. Donovan joined the NHRS in April, taking over from Timothy Crutchfield, who held the position in the interim since Robert Leggett stepped down in 2007 (See IMW, 3/24/08 and 7/23/07. Further details regarding Donovan's departure, including her reasons for leaving and NHRS' plans to…

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Features

Ohio BWC Postpones Searches

September 8, 2008 – The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) has placed all RFP issuances on hold, pending the results of an asset/liability study, CIO Bruce Dunn told IMW last week. In June, Dunn told IMW that the board had approved nearly $7 billion in searches for U.S. equity and fixed-income managers (See IMW, 6/9/08). At that time, the BWC was still finalizing the details, but the mandates were expected to be for a $3.5 billion large-cap equity account and a $3.7 billion TIPS portfolio.

OPERS Broadens Real Estate Horizons

September 8, 2008 – The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) has kicked off a search for a real estate investment manager to oversee an international public securities mandate. The portfolio will be for up to $600 million.

Hall Capital Steps Up Marketing Efforts

September 8, 2008 – Hall Capital Partners has hired Richard Grand-Jean as a principal and director of business development, where he will focus on the eastern U.S. region, said Richard Chimberg, a spokesman for the San Francisco-based firm. In this role he will focus on building and managing customized global multi-asset portfolios, specialized mandates and Hall Capital's fund-of-funds program, the firm said in a published statement. Grand-Jean was most recently president of Abel's Hill Capital Corp.

Alameda Reviews TCW-Managed Portfolio

August 18, 2008 – The investment committee of the Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association (ACERA) was scheduled to review the Trust Company of the West (TCW) according to the agenda posted on the plan's site in anticipation of a meeting last Wednesday. ACERA met with Patrick Thomas, its consultant with Strategic Investment Solutions, and Craig Blum and Tracey Monroe of TCW to discuss the manager's $380 million domestic equity mandate, the document indicated. It was also noted that the board would consider authorizing a search for a large-cap growth domestic equity manager as part of the same discussion.

San Diego Discusses Equity Manager

August 18, 2008 – The investment committee of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System (SDCERS) was due to discuss the fate of Putnam Investments and its small-cap value domestic equity portfolio, confirmed Liza Crisafi, deputy CIO with the plan prior to a meeting last week. Crisafi explained that the board is considering terminating Putnam primarily due to performance issues, but also because of numerous organizational changes that have occurred within the firm since it was hired. Putnam has managed the approximately $88 million account since the early 1990's. The firm was put on SDCERS' watch list earlier this year after a decline in the portfolio's relative ranking (See IMW, 1/7/08).

Report: State Debt, Deficits Growing

August 18, 2008 – The combination of bonded debt, budget deficits, and unfunded pension obligations increased in 35 of the 50 states as of the end of fiscal year 2007, and probably will be even higher this year as economic conditions have worsened and continue to deteriorate, Loop Capital Markets said in a report issued this week. The report, which the firm releases each year, focuses on states’ “economic debt,” an umbrella term that it uses to cover states’ net bond debt, unfunded pension obligations, and budget deficits, if applicable. This latest report shows that, of the 35 states with increases, 13 states’ economic debt rose more than 50% from the previous year.

Oregon To Conduct Investment Review

August 11, 2008 – The Oregon Office of the State Treasurer (OST) has issued an RFP on behalf of the Oregon Public Employees' Retirement Fund (OPERF) for a firm to conduct an operational review of the plan's investment portfolio. Curt Hartinger, risk and compliance officer with the OST, explained that the plan is required by law to conduct such a review every four years.

Common Fund Ends FY'08 with 2.56% Return

August 11, 2008 – The New York State Common Retirement Fund ended fiscal 2008 with a positive return of 2.56%, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said last week. 'There will always be up years and down years in the market, but the diversification of the Common Retirement Fund helped us weather the economic downturn,' DiNapoli said in a press release. 'Our investment strategy isn't day to day, it's decade to decade, so we're prepared to handle downturns.'

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