Two of the biggest public pensions in the US are hiring private equity specialists as interest in the sector continues to grow.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is seeking a portfolio manager for its Sacramento-based private equity team to help manage its $32 billion of investments in the asset class.
The full-time position, advertised on its website, pays $140,000 to $210,000. Applicants would require five years of “broad and extensive investment management experience” as well as experience in investment restructuring and people management.
Since first investing in private equity in 1990 to the end of June 2014, CalPERS has recorded profits of $31 billion from the asset class, according to its website.
The department has had its fair share of controversy too. An investment in a Vector Capital fund in 2007 resulted in CalPERS and other high-profile institutions inadvertently backing an offshore payday loans company that charged users more than 600% interest.
Meanwhile, New York City’s $155 billion retirement system is seeking new private equity talent following the departure of Rafique DeCastro.
DeCastro has moved to Morgan Stanley after more than three years with the New York pension system. He worked as part of the team responsible for $9.7 billion in private equity assets. His job has not yet been advertised formally.
The Bureau of Asset Management, which handles the city’s five pensions, in November appointed Alex Doñé as head of private equity, replacing Barry Miller who left in 2013.
“Rafique has been a valued member of our private equity team for nearly 4 years and we wish him all the best as he embarks on the next phase of his career at Morgan Stanley,” said Scott Evans, CIO for the New York City pension funds. “Under our new private equity chief Alex Doñé, we are seeking to fill various investment positions in the private equity asset class with highly qualified investment professionals.”
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo in December vetoed a bill aimed at increasing the pension’s maximum exposure to alternatives, including private equity.
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