News: 2007 4th Quarter

"Navigating Waves of Change" is the theme for the IFS 2008 Educational Conference for Benefit Plan Fiduciaries. The event will be held Sunday, March 9, 2008, through Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa located in Hollywood, Florida. This event marks the 4th educational conference that IFS has designed and presented, tailored especially to the unique needs of benefit plan fiduciaries.

The first day of the 2008 program examines global changes affecting all institutional investors. A look at the 2008 IFS Asset Allocation Model provides expert guidance to plan fiduciaries concerning how a well-diversified portfolio of assets might be positioned, in light of these global changes. Specific strategies for navigating and even benefitting from these global changes are presented in the second day's breakout sessions.

We are pleased to welcome as keynote speaker:

• Congressman Robert E. Andrews

In addition, guest speakers on the first day of the conference include:

• Greg Valliere, Stanford Washington Research Group
• Doug Poutasse, National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries
• David Blitzstein, Special Assistant for Multi-Employer Funds, UFCW

General session topics include:

• Investment Implications of the 2008 Election
• The Rediscovery of Risk and its Implications for Real Estate Investors
• What's Happening - and About to Happen - with ERISA Plans
• The IFS 2008 Asset Allocation Model

Breakout sessions address these and other topics:

• Basics of Investing in Public Market Securities
• Non-Traditional Investment Tools - What is this Stuff?
• Portable Alpha Investing
• Relaxing Investment Manager Guidelines - is More Discretion Better?
• Considerations for Investing in Private Markets
• Overview of the Mortgage-Backed Securities Market

Benefit plan fiduciaries and professionals from our client funds, as well as friends of the firm are invited and welcome to attend. Full conference details and a conference registration form may be found here.

The following three projects were completed by the IFS Operational Review practice in the 4th Quarter of 2007:

• The Los Angeles City Controller’s Office hired IFS to conduct a management audit of the Los Angeles Fire & Police Pension System. The audit included an evaluation of LAFPPS’ governance, organizational structure and resources, benefit administration functions, processes to minimize City contributions, and administrative processes and costs. The final report was issued in October 2007.
• The Los Angeles City Controller’s Office hired IFS to conduct a management audit of the Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System. The audit included an evaluation of LACERS’ governance, organizational structure and resources, benefit administration functions, processes to minimize City contributions, and administrative processes and costs. The final report was issued in October 2007.
• IFS completed an overall evaluation of the investment program for the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181 Pension Fund, which included areas such as governance, investment policy, asset allocation, due diligence processes and procedures, brokerage and trading practices, and organizational structure and resources. The final report was issued in November 2007.

On January 18, 2008, Independent Fiduciary Services (“IFS”) submitted comments to Department of Labor (“DOL”) regarding proposed amendments to a 2003 prohibited transaction class exemption. This particular exemption requires the approval of an independent fiduciary of releases granted by ERISA-regulated plans to “parties in interest.” This exemption comes into play most often in “stock drop” litigation under the federal securities laws. IFS often serves as an independent fiduciary to institutional investor clients who encounter (or have the potential to encounter) a conflict of interest. A full version of the submitted comments may be found below.