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Big Apple Funds In the Red

New York City's five pension funds lost a total of $5 billion in the nine months leading up to March 31, according to a report released by the New York City Comptroller's office. It is predicted that if the plans do not recoup the losses by the end of the fiscal year, New York City will be faced with providing a bailout worth several billions of dollars. The New York City funds include the Teachers' Retirement System,…

FBI Makes Subprime Arrests

Former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers, Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin were arrested and taken to a Brooklyn Federal court today. The charges are the first to come out of federal investigations of possible fraud on the part of banks and mortgage companies whose investments in subprime loans led to nearly $400 billion in losses for Wall Street. Allegedly, Cioffi and Tannin discussed the state of the hedge funds and acknowledged that they were in…

Texas Plan to Add CIO Role

The $1.7 billion City of Austin Employees' Retirement System (COAERS) will soon hire its first-ever CIO at the plan, said Stephen Edmonds, executive director at the plan. Edmonds explained that the board plans to conduct a search for the new position, however the details and timing of the search have yet to be completely finalized. According to the most recent financial summary on the plan's Web site, COAERS' asset allocation consists of 15.53% non-large-cap domestic stocks,…

CalPERS' Read to Leave CIO Post

Russell Read is stepping down from his position as investment head at the $244.1 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) after nearly two years in the position, confirmed Clark McKinley, a spokesman for the fund.

Texas TRS Hires for Partnership Program

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) has partnered with four firms for its new Strategic Partnership Program. The program is designed to focus on long term partnerships with the four managers and will utilize the full global capabilities of each of the selected firms.

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New CIO in Place At St. Louis University

Gary Whitworth has been named CIO and treasurer at St. Louis University (SLU), effective July 1. Jeff Fowler, a spokesman for SLU, said that Whitworth is replacing Bryan Pini, who is now the CIO at the St. Louis-based Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.

New Executive Director for Ohio Teachers

Michael Nehf has been named the new executive director for the $79.6 billion State Teachers' Retirement System of Ohio (STRS), effective today. Nehf, who currently serves as executive director of the $15.2 billion Employees' Retirement System of Georgia, is replacing STRS' Damon Ashbury who has retired, according to a statement issued by the fund.

Odds & Ends - June 30, 2008

* Hedge Fund manager Chilton Investment Company has hired Francie Heller as managing director of client relations. In this role she will be responsible for providing investment solutions and support to CIOs and other leaders at large corporate and public plans. Heller joins from Bear Stearns where she was a senior managing director and head of the firm's pension, endowment and foundations services group.

Large Plans Post Losses for 1Q08

Pension funds experienced a reversal of gains in the first quarter of 2008 because of volatility in the equity markets and falling interest rates. Yet if the losses are not recouped by the end of the year, experts said, then plan sponsors may have to reevaluate their pension funding, expense and disclosure requirements for plan year 2009.

KPMG Study Looks at Credit Crisis

The collapse of credit markets over the past year, the embarrassing performance of the big three rating agencies, not to mention the pain suffered by many institutional investors as markets have tumbled, have combined to create a crisis of confidence in institutional money managersone that may be slow in going away. That's the finding of a new survey just released by KPMG titled 'Beyond the Credit Crisis: The Impact and Lessons Learnt for Investment Managers.'

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