| 20 January 2010
The $42 billion Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) will move half of its developed non-US equity portfolio and 25 per cent of its emerging market equity portfolio into passive strategies and has begun a search for a single manager for each asset class with a commencement date of May.
For the non-US equity portfolio the size of the mandate will be $1.5 billion, while emerging markets will be up to $600 million.
In developed equities the fund currently employs eight investment managers for US and international equities, although State Street Global Advisors is the only passive manager, with mandates in both asset classes.
Its emerging markets allocation is currently entirely actively managed by three managers, Emerging Markets Management, GMO and T Rowe Price.
The fund’s long term target allocation is 49 per cent global equity, 13 per cent core fixed income, 6 per cent value-added fixed income, 10 per cent private equity, 10 per cent real estate, 4 per cent timber/natural resources and 8 per cent hedge funds.
The move to passive will bring investment management of its emerging market and developed non-US equities in line with a strategic investment policy
The fund is also looking for a manager for its economically targeted investments program, which was established in 2003, and currently has $270 million invested, with the aim of seeking investments that benefit the “Commonwealth as a whole”.
At the moment it invests in a well-diversified portfolio of fixed income, real estate, and alternative investments. Although in its early stages the program makes claim to have created more than 2,500 jobs and issues more than 1,400 mortgages among low-moderate income home buyers, among other things.
Ennis Knupp is the fund’s advisor.
Related Articles
- Institutions worldwide rethink passive exposures: Towers Watson...The number of bond mandates awarded by institutional funds shot up by more than 50 per cent in 2009 as credit markets provided attractive investment opportunities, while the amount of passive allocations made by institutions increased fourfold in the past two years, according to Towers Wat.....Read Full Article
- CalSTRS expands active/passive decision making...CalSTRS will double the ranges of its active/passive global equities allocations in a bid to enable investment staff to allocate funds tactically across active and passive rather than be forced to rebalance to strategic asset allocations.
.....Read Full Article
- Kansas PERS cuts global equities ...The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System is slowly reducing its exposure to global equities as it explores “just about everything else”. Amanda White spoke with chief investment officer Robert ‘Vince’ Smith about the fund’s plans for 2010 which include an asset/liability study and the reorganis.....Read Full Article
- World's largest DC plan to tender investments...The $244 billion Thrift Savings Plan, the largest defined contribution plan in the world, faces an enormous operational challenge this year as it moves from an opt-in to an opt-out default for US federal employees. Amanda White spoke with executive director Greg Long about the fund's plans for 2010,.....Read Full Article
- Norway's largest fund rejects passive management...A complete evaluation of active management including reports by Mercer and an international group of professors, has resulted in the Norges Bank Investment Management, manager of the $375 billion Government Pension Fund-Global, staunchly favouring active management, with the bank’s Governor and exec.....Read Full Article
Comments 
Write comment