Institutional

The $1.9 billion Oklahoma Police Pension & Retirement System returned 12.34% net of fees for the fiscal year ended June 30.

A North Carolina pension may soon get the greenlight to up its investments in alternative assets beyond the current 34% limit.

J. Tomilson HillThe usually separate worlds of hedge funds and retail investment products just got a little closer.

Blackstone Alternative Asset Management is launching its first hedge fund-like mutual fund.The new vehicle will allocate assets among a variety of investment sub-advisers with experience managing alternative investment strategies.

Blackstone may also manage a portion of the fund’s assets directly and may invest in unaffiliated hedge funds.

Daniel Rummery acknowledges that with tens of thousands of protesters in the streets and the stock market in the basement, the “timing could have been better” for the launch of a Brazil-based placement agent, but his official announcement struck an optimistic note:

“Despite current troubling economic times, we at LatAm Capital are very excited about the resulting distressed and credit opportunities emerging from recent market turmoil which has opened a whole new wave of possibilities.”

The private-equity-backed buyout of computer-maker Dell Inc. took a major step forward today when a crucial proxy-advisory firm gave its blessing to the deal.

Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that Dell shareholders approve the $24.4 billion buyout by company founder Michael Dell and p.e. firm Silver Lake Partners.

West Virginia’s main public pension fund has awarded a $40 million mandate to a catastrophe reinsurance hedge fund.

AllenbridgeEpic Investment Advisers, a leading investment adviser to UK pension funds, has added Steve Tyson as a senior adviser.

The Illinois State Board of Investment aims to broaden its hedge-fund portfolio, and may hire a fourth fund of hedge funds to do it.

The Hedge Fund Association and Agecroft Partners have teamed up to create one of the top hedge fund conferences in the world. The new event, Hedgeopolis, will be held in New York City at The Metropolitan Club on November 4.

Another hedge fund manager is weighing in on the thorny issue of public pension reform.