The $44B Texas Municipal Retirement System has hired John Ritter as the managing director and head of real assets.
Ritter started on April 14th, and reports to Yup Kim, the chief investment officer.
In his new role, Ritter oversees the pension fund’s $9B real assets portfolio, which includes uncommitted capital. The pension plan allocates 18% to its real assets’ portfolio.
He joins the pension fund after serving as managing director of real assets at the University of California for more than eight years. Prior to that, Ritter worked at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas for nearly 13 years, serving in multiple senior positions on the real assets team and later as director of energy and natural resources.
In a LinkedIn post, CIO Kim welcomed Ritter to the team: “John Ritter is one of the most respected and innovative investors in real assets, having led real assets at $180B UC Regents and $200B Texas Teachers. Very excited to welcome him back to his hometown of Austin and to TMRS.”
The plan disclosed a pacing of $1B to its real assets, with an indication of investing up to $1.4B in its real estate and infrastructure portfolios.
The pension plan has a U.S.-focus with bias toward markets with strong population growth, a skilled workforce, a business-friendly environment, and barriers to oversupply.
