By Muskan Arora

The $12.3bn Alameda County
Employees’ Retirement Association approved the termination of its $165M domestic small-cap value
equity manager, Kennedy Capital
Management, at its recent April meeting.

The retirement of Michael Bertz, a portfolio manager at Kennedy Capital who has led ACERA’s portfolio since 2010, was cited as one of the main reasons for the termination.

While the pension plan had placed the
manager on a watchlist due to organizational changes in May 2024 when Bertz officially announced his retirement, the action taken at the recent meeting was proposed
by Stephen Quirk, the plan’s investment officer. 

The amount from the termination will be
reallocated to the pension’s overlay program as the plan is preparing for a restructuring of its public equity portfolio over the next six months.

The pension fund currently allocates 27% to
its domestic equities’ portfolio against a target of 24%, as of September 30,
2024.