Illinois Police Officers' Pension Investment Fund, Peoria, is looking to allocate about $300 million to bank loan strategies.
The $9.4 billion pension fund issued an RFP because its target allocation to bank loans is 3%, a spokeswoman said. The Police Officers' Pension Investment Fund was created by a law signed in December 2019 by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker consolidating 649 downstate and suburban police and fire pension plans into two new pension funds.
During the transition of assets in the intervening years to IPOPIF from the individual municipal pension funds, the board hired State Street Global Advisors to manage passive fixed-income portfolios: Up to $1.4 billion in short-term bonds, $950 million in high-yield fixed income, $665 million in core fixed income, $570 million in emerging markets debt and $285 million in U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities.
Funding for the bank loans portfolios will come from the passive high-yield fixed-income portfolio, the spokeswoman said.
There are currently no assets allocated to bank loans.
The RFP is available on IPOPIF's website. Interested managers must update their profiles in eVestment by Sept. 29 with data as of June 30. The deadline for additional information from high-caliber candidates selected by the board will be 5 p.m. CDT on Oct. 13. A selection is expected on Dec. 15.
