NZ Superannuation Fund Appoints Managers

24 May 2004

New Zealand Superannuation Fund Appoints Small-Cap Equity Managers

The Board of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation today announced the appointment of three small-cap equity managers - Thompson Siegel & Walmsley, Numeric Investors, and AXA Rosenberg Investment Management Asia Pacific.

Under the Fund's strategic asset allocation, 12 percent of total assets are earmarked for small-cap equities. According to New Zealand Superannuation Fund Chief Executive, Paul Costello, the appointment of these managers is a further step in diversifying the Fund's global share portfolio.

Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley (TSW) has been appointed to manage a US small-cap value mandate. The strategic allocation to US small-cap value managers is three percent of the Fund, with TSW receiving an initial allocation of two percent. The chosen benchmark for the portfolio is the Russell 2000 Value Index.

Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, TSW uses a combination of active quantitative and qualitative methods to identify undervalued, high-quality stocks. The company has US$4.5 billion under management, of which US$0.26 billion is currently in US small-cap stocks.

Numeric Investors (Numeric) will manage a US small-cap growth mandate. The strategic allocation to US small-cap growth managers is also three percent of the Fund, with Numeric receiving an initial allocation of two percent. Numeric will be benchmarked against the Russell 2500 Growth Index.

Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Numeric applies an active quantitative approach to selecting stocks. Numeric has some US$7.9 billion under management, of which US$0.8 billion is currently in US small-cap growth stocks.

AXA Rosenberg Investment Management Asia Pacific (AXA Rosenberg) has been appointed to manage a non-US small-cap mandate on behalf of the Fund. The strategic allocation to non-US small-cap growth managers is six percent of the Fund, with AXA Rosenberg receiving an initial allocation of three percent. The portfolio will be benchmarked against the S&P Citigroup EMI ex-US Index.

AXA Rosenberg, which manages its small-cap strategies regionally in California, London, Tokyo and Singapore, has US$40 billion under management, of which US$3.2 billion is in non-US small-cap equities.

The appointment of TSW, Numeric and AXA Rosenberg brings the total number of external investment managers to 12. The appointments of a number of other small-cap equity managers will be announced shortly.

ENDS

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