The Minnesota State Board of Investment is launching a sweeping hunt for investment consultants, signaling a major push into private markets and complex alternative strategies.
The selected private markets and alternatives consultants will report to the SBI’s executive director and will work closely with other SBI staff, noted materials from a recent news release. They may also work with members of the SBI’s Investment Advisory Council (“IAC”) and/or individual board members and their staff.
The SBI’s latest request for proposals calls for nondiscretionary advisors to manage everything from private equity and credit to real estate, infrastructure, real assets, royalties, and hedge funds. The news release also added that the chosen consultants will be expected to source deals, conduct operational and legal due diligence, validate fees, monitor capital calls, and scrutinize general partner valuations across more than 100 managers and 300 active partnerships.
The board expects to complete evaluations and select finalists by Feb. 15, 2026. Currently, the SBI retains Aon Investments America and Meketa Investment Group as generalist investment consultants, and Albourne Partners as its private markets consultant, noted the news release.
It also outlined that primary responsibilities of consultants selected through this RFP will include — but are not limited to — nondiscretionary investment advisory services, such as strategic planning, manager search and evaluation, performance measurement and analytics, operational due diligence, risk management and analysis, fee reconciliation, and other operational tasks.
The pension system has also expanded reporting requirements to include quarterly allocation updates, five-year pacing analyses, fund- and deal-level performance metrics, internal rates of return, multiples, public market equivalents, and peer comparisons, disclosed the news release. Fee and expense reports must be reconciled quarterly and annually, with year-end verification due within 60 days. Consultants are also required to archive all manager correspondence digitally and provide daily summaries of general partner emails to SBI staff.
The RFP demands transparency on diligence processes, valuation methodologies, staffing, frequency of site visits, and use of artificial intelligence, noted the news release. It also said firms must disclose whether they sell database information to managers, how they maintain data, and how they manage conflicts of interest, including potential issues with internally managed fund-of-funds businesses.
Performance measurement is also tightly specified. Consultants must describe their methodology for computing returns, constructing benchmarks, ensuring Global Investment Performance Standards compliance, and their handling of reporting errors dating back to 2015. The RFP also emphasizes sustainability and governance, asking firms to demonstrate environmental, social, and governance risk assessments, governance tracking, manager-level evaluations, workforce diversity, and mentorship programs for underrepresented groups.
The news release further disclosed that evaluation will occur in three phases: review responses for responsiveness and pass/fail requirement, evaluate responses, and selection of finalists.
The Minnesota SBI is charged with the investment of approximately $155.91B for the state and related constituents. Out of the total amount, approximately $102.8B represents retirement funds, which the SBI invests on behalf of various state and local governmental employees. The remainder of the assets are made up of trust funds and state cash accounts.
