2025 Elite Real Estate Allocators, Part 2

Simon Mok is the head portfolio manager for International Private Real Estate at the Employees Retirement System (ERS) of Texas. Since joining ERS in January 2019, he has led the sourcing and underwriting of global private real estate investments, including commingled funds, co-investments, joint ventures, secondaries, and more. The ERS private real estate portfolio has a current value of over $4 billion.

Mok travels extensively across global markets to assess opportunities firsthand and shape ERS’s private real estate investment strategy with a global, market-specific perspective. He also established a global co-investment program to capture high-conviction opportunities across diverse submarkets.

Mok serves on numerous LP Advisory Boards and regularly collaborates with GPs and LPs worldwide to address strategic issues. He is also an Americas Editorial Advisory Board Member of Institution Real Estate, Inc. An enthusiastic industry speaker, Mok has presented at prominent conferences across the U.S. and Asia.

Previously, Mok was a vice president at Franklin Templeton Investments in NYC, focused on private multi-manager real estate strategies and emerging managers. Prior to that, he held roles at AIG Global Real Estate, also in NYC, specializing in investment and portfolio management. He holds a Master in Professional Accounting and a B.A. with Special Honors in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a CFA charterholder and a licensed CPA in the U.S.

Mary Robbins is chief investment strategist at Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC, where she leads the firm’s investment platform and product roadmap. She chairs the investment committee and is a member of the senior leadership team, overseeing global asset allocation, investment due diligence, security selection, and portfolio construction.

With nearly 20 years of financial services experience, Robbins is also responsible for the firm’s market commentary and thought leadership, communicating long-term strategies and tactical views to clients and advisors. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ken McDowell is a real estate portfolio manager at the Employees Retirement System (ERS) of Texas, where he has served since 2013. With more than 30 years of experience in commercial and multifamily real estate, he is responsible for the selection, underwriting, and asset management of private real estate commingled funds and co-investments within ERS’ portfolio.

Earlier in his career, McDowell was a senior real estate portfolio manager at the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, where he launched the non-core private real estate program. He also served as a senior investment analyst at the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, overseeing acquisitions and asset management of directly held commercial and multifamily properties.

Clayton Camper is a portfolio manager for real estate at the State Board of Administration (SBA) of Florida, where he is responsible for sourcing, underwriting, and monitoring private real estate investments across the pension system’s portfolio. He joined the SBA in 2021 and contributes to both strategic planning and execution across commingled funds, co-investments, and direct real asset opportunities.

Before joining SBA, Camper was a real estate and real return analyst with the New Mexico State Investment Council, where he helped lead diligence on more than 30 new investments representing over $3B in committed capital. He began his career at Thornburg Investment Management and later served as a financial advisor at Thrivent Investment Management Inc.

Camper holds a bachelor’s degree in business and information technology from Montana Technological University. He is both a Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst charterholder.

Arthur Guimaraes is chief data and operating officer and co-head of real estate at UC Investments, which oversees roughly $180B in assets for the University of California. He helps lead the $10B real estate program, with responsibility for acquisitions, asset management, and dispositions. Since 2014, he has guided the operations of the investment office, overseeing client relations, investment operations, business management, finance, risk, and compliance. He also managed the $25B UC defined contribution plan and spearheaded the implementation of a data management platform that became an industry benchmark.

Guimaraes has been a visible advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, actively engaging with faculty, legislators, and industry stakeholders. He also held senior leadership positions at Manulife Financial and later at the Alberta Investment Management Corp., where he directed the AIMCo innovations transformation program. He is active in DEI initiatives and community service, including membership in the Portuguese Diaspora Council and serves on multiple education boards. Guimaraes earned a BBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto and has taught in both the Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration programs. He also served as an instructor for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.