26/07/2011 Author: Shannon Hawthorne

Arizona retirement system mulls portfolio changes 

The $6.9bn Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS) is considering further changes to its hedge fund portfolio, HFMWeek.com revealed last week.

The pension’s board will discuss investing up to $40m in the Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund, according to the agenda for the investment committee’s 27 July meeting. Last month, the board discussed an investment of up to $50m in the firm’s Special Situations Fund.

The board is also due to discuss the “liquidation of assets from the FrontPoint Offshore Multi-Strategy Fund”, the agenda reveals.

FrontPoint is said to be shutting down the majority of its funds after becoming embroiled in an insider trading scandal late last year that saw the firm suffer mass investor redemptions, while former fund manager Joseph Skowron was charged by federal authorities in April.

Arizona PSPRS has made a number of new hedge fund hires so far this year, across its fixed income, absolute return and credit opportunities portfolios.

Since March, the pension fund has allocated $25m to the Louis Dreyfus Investment Group Commodities Alpha Master Fund, $30m to Stark Investments ABS Opportunities Fund, $50m to the Gracie Credit Opportunities Fund, $60m to Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), $40m to EJF Asset Management’s Debt Opportunities Fund and $60m into Oaktree Capital Management’s European Principal Fund, all of which were first revealed by HFMWeek.