El Paso (Texas) Firemen & Policemen Pension Fund hired Western Asset Management Co. to manage $60 million in bank loans, wrote Robert Stanton, executive director, in an e-mail.
A shortlist search was conducted earlier this year. Funding will come from fixed income; no managers will be terminated.
Also, the $1.2 billion pension fund committed $8 million to Charlesbank Equity Fund VIII pending legal review, said Mark Austin, the pension fund’s new deputy director, in an interview.
The buyout fund is managed by Charlesbank Capital Partners. This is the pension fund’s first commitment to Charlesbank. Investment consultant Meketa Investment Group assisted with the commitment.
The pension fund added a 5% allocation to public bank loans and raised the target to private equity to 10% from 5% after an asset/liability study by Summit Strategies Group earlier this year.
Separately, Mr. Austin, a pension trustee and retired commander for the El Paso Police Department, was named deputy director this week replacing Yolanda Carreon, who had been deputy executive director, Mr. Stanton said.
Ms. Carreon is leaving the pension fund to spend time with her family, Mr. Stanton said.
