NYC pension system, with $12 bln private equity portfolio, names PE chief

  • Assets under management: $200.2 bln
  • Actual allocation to private equity: 6.1 pct
  • Current value of PE portfolio: ~$12 bln
  • Why this is important: New manager of one of the largest PE programs in the country

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer named J. David Enriquez as head of private equity within the city’s Bureau of Asset Management, placing him in charge of the city pension funds’ $12 billion private equity portfolio.

The five pension funds in the New York City system collectively have $200.2 billion in assets with a $12 billion private equity portfolio. The system allocated $2.5 billion to private equity in the fiscal year ending June 2018.

Enriquez worked as interim co-head of private equity since July. The pension system’s previous head of private equity, Alex Doñé, became interim CIO after the departure of previous CIO Scott Evans. Before that, Enriquez was a senior investment officer for private equity.

A spokesperson for the Comptroller’s office declined to comment when asked if Enriquez’s appointment meant that Doñé would be staying in the CIO role on a more permanent basis. Doñé said in a statement that he looked forward to working with Enriquez in his new leadership role.

“David is an experienced private equity investor with a deep commitment to the work of the Bureau of Asset Management,” Doñé said.

Before joining BAM in 2016, Enriquez worked as an investment banker at Rothschild, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns.

Enriquez initially sharing the interim PE chief role with Gabriel Morrow. Morrow left BAM to become director of investments at the Museum of Modern Art in November.

The system has a 6.1 percent allocation to private equity. The pension funds’ PE distributions exceeded commitments in both 2017 and 2018, according to the most recent annual financial report from the Comptroller’s Office.

Action Item: Read Enriquez’s comments about the city’s co-investment program from Buyouts Insider’s Emerging Manager Connect event in January https://bit.ly/2G3vKm2