Chamber pension reveals new partners

(CNS): Trustees from the Chamber Pension Plan said that they have added new managers to enhance the overall performance of its pension portfolio. In a statement releases on Wednesday Paul Tibbetts, the current chairman of the Chamber Pension Plan said Vanguard and Epoch Partners had been added to the plan’s investment roster. Epoch Partners is a deep value manager who invests in a concentrated portfolio of Blue Chip stocks from around the world, the chamber said, and Vanguard will be managing an index of Global Blue Chip stocks for the plan. The plan will now consist of four stock managers.

Paul Tibbetts, the current chairman of the Chamber Pension Plan said it was committed to providing members with the best possible return on their contributions while protecting their assets.

“We are confident that the addition of Vanguard and Epoch Partners, as well established investment managers, will serve to enhance the overall performance of the pension portfolio,” he said. “As we continue steer our course through the difficult financial times, this important move as part of a strategy to diversify is designed to ensure maximum benefit for all members”

Vanguard, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, traces its roots to the founding of its first mutual fund, Wellington Fund, in 1928, the chamber said. With U.S. mutual fund assets of nearly $1.4 trillion, Vanguard is one of the world’s largest investment management companies and a leading provider of employer-sponsored retirement plan services. Vanguard offers more than 170 funds to U.S. investors, and more than 50 additional funds to non-U.S. investors, the chamber revealed.

Epoch, headquartered in New York, is a global asset management firm started in 2004 by senior investment professionals who possess, on average, more than 25 years experience. Since their inception, Epoch has managed to gather over $12.8 billion in assets under management.

The chamber said the firm believes that the key to producing superior risk-adjusted equity returns is the identification of companies with an ability to generate free cash flow and to allocate it properly among dividends, share repurchases, debt pay downs, internal reinvestment opportunities and/or acquisitions. Their performance since inception has been superior against their benchmark by beating it over the 1, 3, and 5 year periods.