NEW YORK, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) today said its
Merrill Lynch Quantitative Advisors (MLQA) investment team was hired by the
Missouri State Employees' Retirement System (MOSERS) to manage a sizeable
portion of the plan's assets.
MLQA, which was established in July, will manage 7.5%, or about $400
million, of assets in the MOSERS' plan. The funds will be invested in a
portfolio that will seek to outperform the EAFE (Europe, Australia and the Far
East) index while maintaining a risk level consistent with the index. The
portfolio will be managed Rick Vella and Vinnie Costa.
"This team has an excellent track record for our fund. We feel confident
that our decision to place this significant portion of the MOSERS plan assets
with MLQA will prove beneficial to all parties," said Rick Dahl, Chief
Investment Officer at MOSERS.
The MOSERS mandate is the latest won by MLQA, formed this summer after
Merrill Lynch hired a five-member team from Deutsche Asset Management
(formerly Bankers Trust Structured Investment Management). The team is in the
process of rolling out an array of products that utilize quantitative
techniques designed to provide consistent, superior investment returns.
"We are extremely pleased that MOSERS elected to carry its confidence in
our investment abilities to the team here at Merrill Lynch," said Dean
D'Onofrio, managing director and head of MLQA. "By giving the team this
mandate, MOSERS employees again gain access to a portfolio managed by one of
the best quantitative investment teams in the industry today."
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and
advisory companies with offices in 43 countries and total client assets
exceeding $1.5 trillion. As an investment bank, it is the top global
underwriter and market maker of debt and equity securities and a leading
strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals
worldwide. Through the Merrill Lynch Asset Management Group, the firm is one
of the world's largest asset managers with more than $500 billion under
management.
SOURCE Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
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CONTACT:
Christine Walton of Merrill Lynch,
212-449-8548, or christine_walton@ml.com
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