CalSTRS will examine the potential for making private equity investments in underserved urban and rural California communities. Officials at the $110 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System, Sacramento, hope to hire a consultant within the next 30 days to review the subject. The study, which would be due around May, would complement similar work done by Pension Consulting Alliance last year on real estate investing in similar communities.
Potential investments could include small businesses and larger companies, said Christopher Ailman, CIO. "Part of this study is to find out what is the investment opportunity,” he said. With suburban sprawl spreading across California, there may be a revitalization of urban areas, and CalSTRS wants to know whether it should be investing in this area, he said.
