Alameda County Opens Coffers To PE

The $5.3 billion Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association launched its maiden voyage into the realm of private equity with the approval earlier this month of a 10 percent allocation to private equity and alternative strategies.

By earmarking a portion of its assets to the alternatives, the Oakland, Calif.-based county pension fund expects to increase returns on capital by 40 basis points. The change was blessed by Strategic Investment Solutions, the limited partner’s investment consultant, as well as in-house staff.

To achieve the 10 percent target, the LP plans to peel off its allocation to United States-based public equities by 4 percent, its allocation to fixed income by 4 percent and its real estate investments by 3 percent. At the same time, the LP expects to increase its exposure to international public equities by 1 percent. Projections call for the new mix to return more than the previous combination, bringing the annual return to 8.33 percent.