Houston Municipal Employees Pension System hired Ariel Investments to run $20 million in a midcap equity strategy, spokesman Peter Koops said in an e-mail.
Mr. Koops did not provide a funding source.
The $2.4 billion pension fund had a 42.3% allocation to global equity as of March 31, the most recent information available.
Separately, the pension fund approved a total of $50 million in private equity commitments.
The pension fund committed $25 million each to Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners VIII, a buyout fund, and NGP Natural Resources XI, a private equity fund managed by NGP Energy Capital Management that focuses on the development of crude oil and natural gas.
As of March 31, the pension fund had a 14.1% allocation to private equity and 17.5% target.
