New England revolution

The Massachusetts state pension plan has just stumped up $1.6 billion for its first foray into hedge fund investment. Navroz Patel talks to treasurer Tim Cahill's team about the challenges associated with its asset reallocation plans

Having been sworn in as Massachusetts state treasurer at the beginning of last year, one of Tim Cahill's most pressing tasks was to overhaul the investment strategy of the state's faltering pension fund. Now, 18 months later, the fund has reached a landmark in its strategic reallocation, with the hiring of five fund-of-hedge-funds managers - each managing around $325m. The Pension Reserve Investment Management Board (Prim), which oversees the state's pension plan, voted for a 5% allocation to