Deals and People April 19, 2006

CalPERS Selects New Chief Investment Officer

April 19, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has announced that Russell Read, former Deputy Chief Investment Officer for Deutsche Asset Management, has been named to the post of Chief Investment Officer (CIO).
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In his new role he will oversee a 180-member investment staff and a diversified portfolio that includes equities, fixed income, alternative investments, and real estate. According to the announcement, the CIO works closely with the Board of Administration in setting investment strategy, establishing the fund’s asset allocation and overseeing the fund’s external managers.

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CalPERS investments include more than $132 billion in US and international stock; $53 billion in US and international fixed income; $9 billion in real estate; nearly $11 billion in privately held investments; and more than $3 billion in cash.

In his post as Deputy Chief Investment Officer for New York-based Deutsche Asset Management, Read had responsibility of more than $250 billion for retail and institutional investors in equity, fixed income and commodity-based investment products. He was also Chairman of the Deutsche’s Americas Investment Committee and principal representative to the firm’s retail mutual fund board of trustees, the announcement said.

Read is a Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Financial Consultant and a Chartered Life Underwriter. He also is the founder of the Institute for Investment Renewable Resources at the University of Maine and is head of the finance committee of the Fractional Development Center that is dedicated to the transformation of wood into energy and materials currently provided by crude oil.

Read replaces Mark Anson, who left CalPERS in January 2006 to become the Chief Executive Officer of Hermes (See CalPERS CIO to Take Top Spot at UK Money Manager ). Anne Stausboll was tapped as the interim CIO for the fund (See CalPERS Names Interim CIO).

Read will begin his position on June 1.

Products April 18, 2006

CIGNA, HealthPartners Join for Alliance

April 18, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - HealthPartners and CIGNA HealthCare have reached a long-term alliance offering health plan products using the HealthPartners and CIGNA provider networks to companies with employees living in Minnesota and other states .
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A news release said that the alliance offers options that include uniform benefits, competitive provider payment rates, streamlined administration and a focus on care that lowers total cost.

The CIGNA-HealthPartners alliance is designed to offer a coast-to-coast, combined network for the 6,000 Minnesota-based companies that have approximately 2.2 million employees in other states.

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This same network will be offered to national companies headquartered elsewhere who have employees in Minnesota, according to the announcement. More information about HealthPartners is at http://www.healthpartners.com .

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