Gerald Yahoudy, Private Equity MD, NY State Teachers’The $109 billion New York State Teachers Retirement System has appointed internal candidate Gerald Yahoudy to replace its longtime head of private equity, who retired last month.
Yahoudy moves into the managing director seat after five years as a deputy for the asset class, the fund said, and 12 years with the retirement system. He had previously held junior investment positions as well as a senior accountant title.
Yahoudy’s predecessor John Virtanen had been active in his last of 38 years with the retirement system. NY State Teachers’—one of America’s 10 largest pension funds—inked 16 new private equity commitments in the 2014 fiscal year, according to its annual report.
While the portfolio’s value stood at $8.4 billion as of June 30, 2014, its $17.4 billion in active commitments across 83 relationships promise to nearly double that size. Its manager roster reads as a who’s who of establishment private equity firms: Carlyle Group (five funds), Blackstone Capital Partners (two funds), Grosvenor Capital (four funds), KKR, and TPG Partners (funds III through VI), among many others.
“The retirement system has a mature and cash-flow positive private equity program diversified by investment strategy and geographic focus,” Virtanen and his group wrote in the annual report. “Increased exposure to Asia and Latin America is expected over the next five to 10 years.”
The program returned 14.4% over the last decade, beating its benchmark by 160 basis points.
Yahoudy takes over a leverage-buyout heavy portfolio, with the expectation of adding 500 basis points above the S&P 500’s annual performance.
Prior to joining NY State Teachers’ in 2003, Yahoudy spent several short stints in private sector accounting and audit roles, including with ABN AMRO, Central National Bank, and Commercial Travelers Mutual Insurance Company. From there, he crossed into the public sector in 2000 as a New York State tax auditor. 
Source: New York State Teachers’ Retirement System 2014 Annual Report
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