Maryland State Retirement & Pension System, Baltimore, hired Meketa Investment Group as investment consultant, said spokesman Michael Golden.
The contract is for five years with the option of two one-year extensions. Hewitt EnnisKnupp had been the consultant since 2002, and was eligible to rebid. “The board decided to consider input and analysis from another consultant, especially given their particular expertise in alternatives,” Mr. Golden said in an interview.
Separately, the pension fund returned 14.37% net of fees for the fiscal year ended June 30, the board reported July 25. That exceeded the fund’s benchmark of 14.2%, and represented a $5 billion gain for the system, which reached $45.4 billion in assets. “The strong performance was driven by growth-oriented assets, including public and private equity, with additional value generated from active management,” Chief Investment Officer A. Melissa Moye said in a statement.
The fiscal year returns also exceeded the fund’s 7.7% assumed rate of return.
The highest returns for the fiscal year came from public equity at 22.1%, followed by private equity, 19.6%; real estate, 14.2%; credit, 11.5%; absolute return, 7.6%; real return, 7%; and fixed income, 4.6%.
Maryland’s asset allocation is 38.9% public equity, 14.8% fixed income, 7% private equity, 12% real return, 10% credit, 9.4% absolute return, 6.8% real estate and 1.1% cash.
