The New Mexico Public Employees Retirement System has made many changes to its investment strategy this summer.
Rob Kurak, the retirement lead for Taft-Hartley pension plans for Mercer, sees a range of challenges for multi-employer plans as the economy suffers and, unfortunately, he doesn't see any easy fix.
Although many public pension plans have already made the jump into alternatives, Kevin Lenaghan, senior associate at alternatives consulting firm Cliffwater Associates, based in Marina del Rey, Calif., is still pushing institutional investors toward the area.
Larry Gray believes investors should now be winding down entry into high-yield investing and is looking at transitioning some of those clients into opportunistic real estate.
David Kushner, deputy director for investments, San Francisco Employees Retirement System, managed the $13.9 billion pension plan through the financial crisis.
Mark Brubaker, managing director at Wilshire Associates, has seen investment strategies come and go in his career but, as he tells it, the only successful way to create a truly efficient portfolio is through diversification.
Kloepfer is recommending his clients invest in global equities and hold off from investing in real estate and private equity.
Ali Amiry, investment officer of the $1.6 billion San Jose Federated City Employees Retirement System and the $2.3 billion San Jose Police and Fire Department Retirement Board has a plan to reduce volatility and risk.
Funds are starting to look overseas for new investment opportunities, and Michael Sebastian, principal with Ennis, Knupp & Associates, is leading the charge.
CIO Gary Bruebaker oversees $70 billion for 39 different pensions, with $50 billion being defined benefit for the Washington State Investment Board, so he prefers a gradual approach to change.
The $36 billion Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association has officially completed the acquisition of the Denver Public Schools Retirement System's $2.7 billion in assets, and CIO Jennifer Paquette is in the midst of an asset/liability study with the pension's consultant, Ennis, Knupp & Associates, to determine the best way to incorporate and manage the money.
CIO Kelly Cliff has stuck to the same consulting strategy since he joined San Francisco-based consulting firm Callan Associates in 1992.
Cleveland, Ohio-based ORG Real Property has successfully advised clients on the real estate market and appropriate investments throughout the turmoil.
Bob Maynard is no stranger to change.
Norwalk, Conn-based Rocaton Investment Advisors has stuck to the business model it developed since the firm's founding in 2002.
Funds have been hammered in the last year, but Chris Meyer thinks that was the push funds needed to start questioning whether they had the right asset allocations and managers.
As the Wyoming Retirement System's first CIO, Trent May has several tasks at hand, including ramping up his staff, improving performance and better diversifying the fund's plain-vanilla portfolio.