Although the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association is situated roughly 28 miles from the ocean, it has dubbed its five-pronged effort to advance diversity, inclusion and equity in its portfolio and the financial services industry as "LACERA TIDE."
The board of the Pasadena, Calif.-based pension fund approved the label, which stands for LACERA "Towards Inclusion, Diversity and Equity" and the program's holistic approach, at its March 10 meeting.
LACERA officials' idea for the approach is that they do not want to limit themselves to a singular strategy or initiative to foster diversity, inclusion and equity, a board presentation said. The five pillars of LACERA TIDE are promoting diversity, inclusion and equity in its own staffing; manager and vendor due diligence and monitoring; active ownership and corporate governance; support of capital formation for firms with diverse ownership; and industry advocacy.
LACERA's efforts include asking its money managers to report firm demographics, where legal, as well as integrating diversity, inclusion and equity reporting requirements into investment agreements.
The staff expects to provide a progress report at the November meeting, LACERA CIO Jonathan Grabel said during the March board meeting.
"The best is yet to come," Mr. Grabel said.
