Barclays Global Investors has had its equity index mandate increased by the $1.7bn Fairfax County Employees’ Retirement System in Virginia. The increase in assets was the result of an investment review that determined that the fund should place more assets in indexed investments. No consultant was used for the re-allocation.
“We decided to reduce our active allocation after looking at our past history and our level of success with (active management)”, said Larry Shwartz, executive director. He said the fund would maintain its index approach even if the markets continue to slip. “This wasn’t a tactical move”, he said. BGI, which has maintained a relationship with the fund since 1995, had a $194m growth mandate based on the Standard & Poorís 500 increased to $251m, and was asked to introduce a $37m S&P value account.
Currently the fund is allocated 35% in fixed income, 39% in domestic equity, 12% in international equity, 10% in Real Estate Investment Trusts and the remainder in cash and short-term investments. Shwartz does not foresee additional changes in the near future.