NEWS

CPP and BlackStone plan to acquire AirTrunk in a $16bn deal

The transaction is subject to approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.

Public equities push PennPSERS to signal 8.1 percent fiscal year return, above benchmark

The $75.2bn pension plan exceeded its policy benchmark of 7.1%.

‘Structural changes’ force Kern County to bid farewell to FI manager, amid new PC allocation

The $5.7bn Kern County ERS has dry powder of $232m for its FI sleeve and committed $25m to its PC portfolio

Exclusive: Career Advice from an exit interview with top industry CIO recruiter, Michael Kennedy

For years, he recruited the top CIOs in the United States, and chaired the largest pension fund in the country. Now he's retiring, and disclosing some of the things he couldn't discuss in the past.

Maryland Retirement Agency appoints deputy CIO

The $67.7bn pension plan appoints Thomas Kim as deputy CIO

Montana Investment Board unveils $332m in new commitments

The $28bn pension plan disclosed commitments in RE, RA and private investments including VC and PE

New Mexico SIC focusses on Private Equity with $800m in commitments

The $54.2bn pension plan recently committed to its PE, PC and RA sleeves

With growing 'access' to good managers, OCERS plans $750m in PE pacing

The $23.6bn system will maintain its pacing plan of $750m through 2026, with an bullishness towards information technology and healthcare.

TMRS announces three senior staff hires

The $40bn Texas fund hired Philip Hunter O’Brien, Amol Deshpande and Isidora Stankovic.

CIO Jonathan Grabel considers venture to be the 'growthiest' component of LACERA's growth portfolio

CIO Jonathan Grabel, an Elite 100 CIO, is known for his exceptional work in private equity, for getting DEI disclosures beyond 90%, and his rock-solid internal investment committee. In this interview, Grabel dives deeper into the breakdown of his private equity portfolio, his due diligence using strong internal metrics, the red flags he sees in choosing managers, and his allocations to his fixed income portfolio. 

LAFPP raise allocation to real estate from trims made in REITs

The $31bn pension plan has made significant changes in its real estate, REIT and commodities portfolio amid changes in the market environment

Recent PE allocations by investors favor healthcare and technology commitments

The $142.1bn Minnesota State Board of Investment has committed to similar funds as VRS, CPP and Pennsylvania PSERS within its private equity sleeve. 

PSP Investments appoints an interim CIO

PSP Investments and CIO Eduard van Gelderen “mutually agreed” to his departure. 

Texas ERS discloses private market pacing plans for 2025, amid high quarterly returns

The $39bn Texas ERS boasts 1.8% return against its policy benchmark of 0.37% in the second quarter. In the recent meeting, the system unfolded pacing plans for RE, Infrastructure, private equity and private credit.

CPP appoints private equity head, following the departure of Suyi Kim

The $472.8bn fund promoted its managing director for PE to the new role. 

Modi’s re-election makes India hotter

India is expected to grow by +6.6% in FY24-25 and +6.4% in FY25-26. Public spending, foreign investment and easing inflation will be tailwinds, suggests recent reports.  

In Depth Exclusive Interview: CIO Shoaib Khan expects opportunities in 'technology, manufacturing and services' in India, as more allocators invest

Modi's re-election has created more opportunities in the region, CIO Khan highlights key opportunities and concerns in the region. 

CIO Andrew Junkins considers ‘active management’ for high returns amid new PE, RE commitments

The $113.9bn system disclosed its recent commits alongside flagging a high 9.9% return for fiscal year 2024

CPP discloses 2.9 billion dollar PE, RA, and other commitments made in the first quarter

The $472.8bn pension plan noted a return of 1% in the first quarter and 9.1% return for its 10-year annualized net return.

Ontario Teachers appoints chief financial officer

The $225.8bn promoted Mabel Wong to chief investment officer from the role of senior managing director.

Australian Retirement Trust has a new CFO

The $330bn pension plan promoted Phil Fraser to the role of CFO

Pennsylvania PSERS identifies “strong replacement” for RE equity in higher interest rate environment

The $74.6bn system focuses on ‘higher IRR and lower multiple of capital’ as both real estate and private credit team suggest a $175m new allocation.

H1, 2024 Allocator Roundups

In the first half of 2024, Markets Group hosted numerous institutional events across several key regions of North America, gathering insights from institutional investors. The white papers produced from these events provide a detailed look at the strategies and trends shaping investment decisions in each respective market. This analysis combines the key findings from each region to offer a holistic view of current investment strategies and market perspectives.

Dr. Ron Piccinini likes 'bond plus option strategy' while mitigating risk in the current environment

Today we have one of the leaders from Ashton Thomas, Dr. Ron Piccinini. Ron has extensive background in risk analysis, portfolio management, and has expertise in assessment of alternative investments. In this interview, we dive deeper into their biannual playbook manager selection and risk-mitigating strategies, among others. Piccinini will be speaking at a Private Wealth Mountain States Forum on October 29th and Private Wealth Southwest Forum on December 3rd.

Interviews from the Sidelines of our Private Wealth Forum in Sydney, Australia

The 3rd Annual Private Wealth Australia Forum welcomed over 350 attendees for an exclusive gathering of family offices, wealth managers, private banks, and asset managers from across the Asia-Pacific region. This invitation-only event offered a deep dive into the most pressing issues facing the private wealth community today, with discussions that raised the bar on regional forums.

Pennsylvania PSERS bullish on healthcare and technology for PE allocations

The $74.6bn made re-ups focused on healthcare and technology, following the market tailwinds

Mass PRIM’s fiscal year returns led by emerging markets and US equities, with zero staff turnover

The system recorded a gain of 9.9% with zero staff turnover during the fiscal year.

Somerville Retirement System searches for RE managers

The $427m pension fund is looking to commit $15m to $25m to a core, core plus, value added or opportunistic RE managers

NZ Super appoints chief risk officer

The $76.6bn fund has promoted Michael Mitchell from the role of acting chief risk officer, following the retirement of Mark Fennell earlier this year

U.K. Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association appoints director of policy and advocacy

Zoe Alexander has taken over the role of director of policy and advocacy, as Nigel Peaple plans to step down at the end of August

CalSTRS signals 8.4 percent net return for the 2024 fiscal year

The $341.1bn pension fund has a positive return for all its asset allocations except in real estate. 

Exclusive: Elias Bachmann considers private credit as a 'Gateway Drug'

 In this conversation Bachmann dives deep into impact investing, red flags in managers and his contrarian approach when making investment decisions. He will also be speaking at our 8th annual private wealth forum in Denver on October 29. 

National Employment Savings Trust appoints head of retirement

The $47bn system has promoted Mark Rowlands to head of retirement. 

Penn SERS considers co-investments a ‘cost effective way’ to invest in private equity; amid new allocation

The board approved a re-up of up to $200m to HarbourVest PA Co-investment Fund Tranche II L.P, capped at $50m allocation for 2024

Kansas PERS seeks international equity manager

The $27bn is searching for a new manager owing to issues over one watchlist manager on the roster. The system allocates $6.4bn to its equity program. 

University of California witnesses 12.2 percent returns for the fiscal year

The $98.6bn pension fund and endowment’s maximum returns came from its investment in S&P 500 index without tobacco or fossil fuels. 

Exclusive: CIO Shoaib Khan considers emerging markets an 'important area' of investments

The NJ Pension Fund CIO Shoaib Khan, who joined the pension fund in early 2021, is widening his investments for emerging managers. Owing to looming geopolitical concerns, back in 2022 the CIO reduced its allocation to private markets and improved their liquidity positioning. This allows them to sail smoothly in the current changing market environment. In this interview, the CIO dives deeper into manager selection, sectors he finds attractive and more. 

Interviews and Photos from the Sidelines of ALTS Chicago

ALTSCHI 2024 brought together over 450 professionals for a day of insightful discussions and networking in the heart of the Midwest. This investor-centric forum focused on delivering actionable content to those who manage, advise, allocate to, or oversee alternative assets. Our exclusive video interviews covered the latest hot topics, and some of the responses might surprise you.

Ford Foundation’s president to step down after 11 years

Darren Walker will step down by the end of 2025

Illinois Police seeks its first private credit manager

The $10.4bn system has released an RFP for its first private credit manager search with initial responses due August 6. 

Cbus Super has hired head of ESG integration

Talieh Williams, will take over the role of Justin Ginnivan, with a focus on supporting the fund’s long term sustainable returns

Kansas PERS commits $85m to a real estate fund

The $27bn pension fund has made a new commitment as a part of its non-core RE portfolio focused on non-traditional property types.

CalSTRS introduces a new division, draws fiscal year 2025 plan

The $337.9bn system has introduced a total fund management division alongside drawing plans for individual asset classes.

San Bernadino overallocates its real estate portfolio for the first time in three years

In a recent discussion, the system highlighted having a “high bar for new opportunities in the real estate sleeve” and made its only commitment of the year in April. 

NGS Super appoints deputy CIO, expands ESG teams

Michael Mi has been promoted, alongside Skye King and Wendy Fang responsible for expanding the ESG teams.

2024 Elite 100 CIOs

The Elite 100 is an esteemed list celebrating 100 Chief Investment Officers from Public Pension Funds, Endowments, Foundations, and Corporate Pension Funds. Each honoree is a commendable industry leader, recognized for their exceptional contributions and innovative strategies.

From the Sidelines: Interviews at our Institutional Retreat in Park City

Louisiana Teachers commits to an international small cap equity manager

Decision was made due to the poor performance of other managers on the roster.

Illinois Teachers searches for a real estate and real assets consultant

The current consultant StepStone’s contract will expire at the end of this year. 

Gary Draghi retires from the role of CIO

During his tenure at City of Hartford, Draghi worked with P. Wayne Moore and J. Sean Antoine