TorreyCove wins pact with NYSTRS

San Diego-based TorreyCove will add the 273,000-member pension system to its roster of clients, which include the Ohio Police & Fire pension fund, San Francisco Pension System, the Oregon Investment Council and the Illinois Teachers Retirement System. TorreyCove, headed by David Fann, its president and CEO, also counts Mitsubishi Corp as a strategic partner, according to the firm’s website.

StepStone Group LP had been serving as a private equity consultant to New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS). Last October, NYSTRS renewed its agreement with StepStone, effective Feb. 1, for a period not to exceed three months, as the system embarked upon a review and selection process for a private equity consultant, according to the NYSTRS website.

A TorreyCove spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for StepStone declined to comment.

In its 2014 private equity outlook, TorreyCove assigned its highest rating—moderate overweight—to three out of seven private equity fund types: smaller buyout funds of $500 million to $5 billion, distressed debt and venture capital funds.

Separately, NYSTRS is working on collecting bids for general investment consulting and advisory services. The retirement fund was scheduled to email out requests for proposal to various providers on April 18, with all prospective vendors to be contacted by June 4, according to a document on the pension system’s website. The pension system will organize site visits over the summer and invite candidates for oral presentations before its investment committee on Oct. 29. The contracts will be awarded on Nov. 3, with work expected to begin early in 2015.

The pension system is looking for advice on asset allocation, including private asset classes; manager research; governance; and education services for the retirement board and staff.

In other recent moves, the board committed up to $100 million to Grosvenor Capital Management’s Customized Fund Investment Group to form a partnership, CFIG-NYSTRS Real Estate Investment Partners. The pension system also renewed an agreement with Wellington Management Company LLP to manage a portion of its fixed income assets. The board also approved the appointment of James O’Keefe to the investment advisory committee for a term ending May 31, 2017.