US– The $6bn (€6.2bn) Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement Systems (LASERS) pension fund has issued a RFP for managers for hedge fund-of-funds portfolios worth $120m (€123.4m).

The fund, which is open to public employees in the southern US state, says it is hoping to attract European managers as well as domestic players. At present it is unsure how many managers it will appoint.

Says Richard Harper of Massachusetts-based consultants New England Pension Consultants, who is advising LASERS on the selection process: “based on previous experience we thought it prudent to advertise in Europe. That way we get a real diversification of ideas from a different crop of managers.”

The fund’s assets are invested in a diverse range of asset class but Harper says this is the first time it has considered a hedge fund-of-fund portfolio.

“One per cent of the fund’s assets is currently in single hedge fund portfolios. About two per cent has now been set aside for the new fund-of-fund mandates.

“We have chosen a fund-of-fund strategy because we feel this will give us the highest rate of return relative to the amount of time and assets we can devote to it. However, there are no plans to drop the single hedge fund managers,” Harper explains.








Topics