Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, Topeka, hired Nomura Corporate Research and Asset Management and Shenkman Capital Management to run up to $450 million each in high-yield fixed income and approved two new real estate commitments totaling up to $170 million.
The $27.3 billion pension fund’s board approved the actions at its Nov. 21 meeting, spokeswoman Emily Wilson said.
The high-yield hires are the result of a search conducted earlier this year as a result of the board in May 2023 approving an increase in the target to yield-driven strategies to 12% from 6%.
Other changes at the time included increases to targets to real estate to 15% from 13%, core fixed income to 13% from 10% and private equity to 11% from 9%; and decreases in the targets to global equity to 43% from 47%, real return to 3% from 11% and cash equivalents to 3% from 4%.
The specific funding source was not provided.
Also at the Nov. 21 meeting, the board approved commitments of up to $85 million each to LBA Logistics Value Fund X, a value-added real estate fund managed by LBA Realty, and Principal Data Center Growth & Income Fund, a data center real estate fund managed by Principal Real Estate Investors.
As of June 30, the actual allocations to yield-driven strategies and real estate were 11.8% and 9.9%, respectively.
