Los Angeles County Employees Retirement System, Pasadena, Calif., on Wednesday hired StepStone Group as its real estate consultant.
The board of the of the $63.8 billion pension fund made the selection following an RFP that was launched in September. Incumbent Townsend Group has served as LACERA's real estate consultant since 1992 and "decided not to reapply for their own reasons," said John McClelland, principal investment officer in response to a question from a board member. LACERA has a $5.1 billion real estate portfolio, with 80% invested in separately managed accounts and the remainder in commingled funds.
Separately, LACERA's staff plans to seek board approval "very soon" for a manager for its private equity emerging manager program, said Christopher Wagner, principal investment officer, during the meeting. A proposal for an RFP is scheduled to come before the board in June. Current manager, J.P. Morgan Asset Management is expected to fully commit its $300 million mandate by the end of 2021, Mr. Wagner said.
In other news, LACERA is searching for a deputy CEO to assist CEO Santos H. Kreimann in directing and overseeing operations, according to the job posting. Responses are due by Feb. 16. Further information is available on LACERA's website. Executive recruiting firm Alliance Resource Consulting is assisting.
