Rob Kozlowski
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Senior Reporter for Pensions & Investments (pionline.com). Email is rkozlowski @ pionline.com
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Articles by Rob Kozlowski
Illinois Municipal Retirement earmarks $320 million for private equity, real estate
August 28, 2026 12:31 PM EDT Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, Oak Brook, approved eight new commitments to private equity and real estate funds totaling $320 million, said Angela Miller-May, chief investment officer of the $61 billion Oak Brook-based pension fund.
Ohio Police & Fire commits $75 million to opportunistic real estate
August 28, 2026 12:02 PM EDT Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, Columbus, committed $50 million to opportunistic real estate fund Chicago Pacific Founders Healthcare Real Estate Fund IV and $25 million to a sidecar vehicle.
Los Angeles Water & Power, 3 California county pension funds commit $341 million to private markets, real assets
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Montana Board of Investments assigns $250 million to infrastructure, real estate, private equity
August 26, 2026 02:57 PM EDT Montana Board of Investments, Helena, committed a total of $250 million to infrastructure, real estate and private equity funds on behalf of the state’s $17.2 billion Consolidated Assets Pension Pool, according to materials included with its Aug. 26 meeting.
South Dakota slates $100 million for energy transition fund
August 26, 2026 02:00 PM EDT South Dakota Investment Council, Pierre, committed $100 million to Blackstone Energy Transition Partners V on behalf of the $15.3 billion South Dakota Retirement System.
Ohio State Teachers says beating peers isn’t the point — paying benefits is
August 26, 2026 02:36 PM EDT Ohio State Teachers Retirement System, Columbus, trailed its benchmark in its most recent fiscal year and fell to the third quartile among its peers for the one- and three-year periods.
Future Fund CEO Raphael Arndt to exit after 6 years; search for replacement begins
Raphael Arndt, CEO of Australia’s A$356 billion ($251.6 billion) Future Fund, Melbourne, is leaving to return to the private sector, according to a news release from the sovereign wealth fund. This content is exclusive to P&I Daily subscribers. Get unlimited online stories, daily email alerts and access to P&I Searches and Hires content.
Victory Capital Holdings to acquire First Eagle Investments in $7 billion deal
Victory Capital Holdings has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire First Eagle Investments in a $7 billion deal, according to a news release.
Quantum’s Renewables Pullback Prompts ESG Questions From Pension Fund
Quantum Capital Group is reducing its exposure to renewables in its latest energy fund because of compressed returns, and what that means for at least one pension fund is having to ask more questions of their manager’s commitment to ESG guidelines.
Colorado Fire & Police restructures hedge fund portfolio, assigns $795 million to multiple asset classes
August 25, 2026 01:41 PM EDT Colorado Fire & Police Pension Association, Denver, disclosed $795 million in manager hires, investments and commitments, including moves made following the restructuring of its hedge fund portfolio.
How one pension fund CIO built the case for staying the course — even with a correction looming
August 25, 2026 01:42 PM EDT In 2019, the year after Mark Steed became CIO of the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, Phoenix, he looked at its 15% allocation to hedge funds and thought it was the hardest way to earn earn what he assumed would be an 8% return.
San Diego City Employees seeks general investment consultant
San Diego City Employees’ Retirement is searching for a general investment consultant, according to an RFP posted on its website.
What hundreds of 401(k) filings reveal about active management’s struggles
August 24, 2026 08:00 AM EDT The ongoing challenges of active management were reflected in 401(k) plan fund changes in 2025, as concentration in large-cap equities and poor-performing quality small-cap equities forced some plan sponsors to replace funds, according to defined contribution plan consultants.
Houston Firefighters commits $315 million to private markets
August 21, 2026 10:56 AM EDT Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund approved commitments totaling $315 million at its July 21 investment committee meeting, according to recently released meeting minutes.
Delaware, Rhode Island, California County funds earmark $395 million to private markets, hedge funds, real estate
August 21, 2026 10:37 AM EDT Four pension funds recently disclosed or approved private market and real estate commitments and hedge fund investments totaling $395 million.
Decumulation is the next frontier for DC plans — here are the 5 moves sponsors must make now
Defined contribution plan sponsors must help participants over 50 shift from saving to spending — or risk financial losses and fiduciary liability, according to a new paper from the Institutional Retirement Income Council.
A Dallas pension fund at 39% funded is taking on more illiquidity — here’s what changed
August 20, 2026 03:04 PM EDT Dallas Police & Fire Pension System is ramping up its private markets program and lowering exposure to public equity, a move that signals how a severely underfunded pension plan can rethink risk when they are able to secure the appropriate level of contributions.
Energy manager’s renewables pullback prompts ESG questions from pension fund
August 18, 2026 02:41 PM EDT Quantum Capital Group is reducing its exposure to renewables in its latest energy fund because of compressed returns, and what that means for at least one pension fund is having to ask more questions of their manager’s commitment to ESG guidelines.
PennPSERS commits $500 million to private equity, real estate
August 17, 2026 12:49 PM EDT Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System, Harrisburg, approved commitments totaling $500 million to private equity and real estate funds at its Aug. 13 board meeting, according to a notice of resolutions on its website.
Dallas Police & Fire moves beyond long-only, taps new global equity manager
Anton Orlich, deputy CIO, private markets at CalPERS, reflects on the progress of the private equity overhaul launched in 2022.
San Antonio Fire & Police collars 2 new small-cap value equity managers
San Antonio Fire & Police Pension Fund hired Dimensional Fund Advisors and Vaughan Nelson Investment Management to run a total of about $160 million in active domestic small-cap value equities.
Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board Request for Proposals (RFP)
August 10, 2026 08:00 AM EDT The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board, a $130 billion public pension fund, is requesting proposals for Audit and/or Tax Services. The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit proposals from qualified firms interested in providing Audit and/or Tax Services.
2026 P&I Convergence - Prudential Financial
U.S. public pension fund chief investment officers will see their authority continue to grow in the future as delegation grows and technology improves, according to those holding the positions today.
Insurance company zeal for private credit growing, but many lack expertise to do it well
Insurers are eager to deploy more capital into private credit — but the vast majority lack the in-house expertise to do it well, according to a new global survey from Mercer.
Chicago Teachers still can’t agree on investment consultant as second search stalls
Chicago Public School Teachers’ Retirement and Relief Fund continues to have challenges hiring an investment consultant after its investment committee could not come to an agreement on rehiring incumbent Callan.
2026 P&I Convergence - MetLife
We and our partners: (24) process personal data such as IP Address, Unique ID, browsing data for: Store and/or access information on a device | Personalised advertising, advertising measurement, and audience research | Personalised content | Content measurement and services development | Use precise geolocation data | Identify devices based on information actively requested. Some partners do not ask for your consent to process your data, instead, they rely on their legitimate business interest.
North Carolina Investment Authority: Risk Investment Analyst
The North Carolina Investment Authority is excited to share that we are recruiting to fill a Risk Investment Analyst on the Risk Management team! The North Carolina Investment Authority (NCIA) is a separate and independent state agency, governed by a Board of Directors chaired by the State Treasurer, tasked with investing North Carolina’s $144 billion in pension assets.
Illinois Police Officers continues asset allocation buildout, issues private credit RFP
August 06, 2026 03:08 PM EDT Illinois Police Officers’ Pension Investment Fund is continuing to advance its private markets portfolio construction with a search for up to two opportunistic private credit managers to handle a total of up to $250 million — the latest phase of a strategic buildout approved at its February board meeting.
Another public pension fund set to cut public equity, raise private markets exposure
August 06, 2026 12:57 PM EDT In the past two years, a number of U.S. public pension funds have reduced their targets to public equities in order to raise exposure to private markets, and the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System looks set to follow that trend.
Buybacks added an unnoticed tailwind to U.S. stocks. The AI boom could reverse it.
August 06, 2026 09:00 AM EDT For the past 10 years, buybacks have outpaced new share issuance, adding about 70 basis points to the S&P 500 index return, but that could reverse, according to a new white paper from asset manager Ninety One.
Alameda County, San Mateo County pension funds commit $145 million to private markets, real assets
August 05, 2026 01:42 PM EDT Two California county pension funds recently approved or disclosed a total of $145 million in private markets and real assets commitments.
GE Pension Trust invests $100 million in seed capital in asset-backed credit interval fund
General Electric Pension Trust is investing $100 million in deployable seed capital in Privacore VPC Asset Backed Credit Fund, a registered interval fund aimed for individual investors.
Nontraditional paths could shape the next generation of CIOs
The public pension CIO role is evolving, requiring future leaders to master unorthodox skills, function as expert generalists, and work fluently with AI tools.
Delegation, AI are reshaping the public pension CIO role of the future — and may push consultants to the background
August 04, 2026 12:46 PM EDT U.S. public pension chief investment officers are gaining authority over investment decisions as portfolios become more complex, their organizations build deeper internal teams, and AI makes funds more self-sufficient — a transformation some experts predict could eventually reduce pension funds’ reliance on intermediaries such as consultants and external managers.
Illinois Teachers assigns $788 million to private markets, infrastructure
August 03, 2026 01:41 PM EDT Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, Springfield, disclosed a total of $788 million in commitments to private markets and infrastructure funds at its July 31 board meeting, according to a news release.
3 California county pension funds commit $270 million to private markets
Three California county pension funds recently disclosed or approved commitments to private markets funds totaling $270 million.
Fresno City Retirement moves beyond direct lending in private credit buildout
July 29, 2026 03:56 PM EDT Fresno (Calif.) City Retirement Systems is adding a total of $60 million to private credit separate accounts managed by Arcmont Asset Management and Monroe Capital and changing the portfolio guidelines to further diversify the accounts beyond direct lending.
PennSERS commits $150 million to buyout fund, moves $2 billion to domestic from international small-cap equities
July 29, 2026 12:52 PM EDT Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System, Harrisburg, committed $150 million to The Resolute Fund VII, a middle-market buyout fund managed by TJC, and changed Xponance’s $2 billion mandate to passive domestic equities from active international small-cap equities.
Why public pension funds face greater valuation risk than ever, even as funding improves
July 28, 2026 04:12 PM EDT U.S. public pension funds are reporting their strongest funding ratios since 2009, but the improvement masks a growing risk: More than a quarter of their assets are now valued using estimates rather than market prices, and plans aren’t disclosing what would happen if those valuations prove wrong, according to bipartisan nonprofit think tank Equable Institute.
Why liquidity discipline shapes every portfolio decision at Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System
July 23, 2026 11:44 AM EDT Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, Springfield, has struggled with one of the nation’s lowest funding ratios for decades — a legacy of insufficient state contributions across five gubernatorial administrations. While Gov. J.B. Pritzker has made pension funding a priority, the $86.4 billion pension fund stood at just 47.8% funded as of June 30, 2025, according to its most recent actuarial valuation report.
Chicago Park Employees on lookout for investment consultant
Chicago Park Employees’ Annuity & Benefit Fund is searching for an investment consultant, according to an RFP on its website.
Los Angeles County, city plans commit $556 million to private equity
Three pension funds in and around Los Angeles disclosed a total of $556 million in private equity commitments in July.
Thinking beyond $100 billion — inside Illinois Teachers’ investment office transformation
July 22, 2026 11:55 AM EDT When Stan Rupnik added executive director to his CIO role at Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, Springfield, in 2021, he had a clear mandate: build an investment operation capable of managing $100 billion and beyond.
Ohio School Employees assigns $100 million to private credit, venture capital funds
July 21, 2026 01:38 PM EDT Ohio School Employees Retirement System, Columbus, committed a total of up to $100 million to private markets funds at its July 16 staff investment committee meeting, according to emailed meeting highlights.
DC, Virginia pension funds commit $351 million to infrastructure, private credit, private equity
Three public retirement systems in the District of Columbia and Virginia recently disclosed or approved a total of $351 million in commitments over the last two months.
KY Teachers, Louisiana Teachers, L.A. Water & Power commit $355 million to private markets
We and our partners: (24) process personal data such as IP Address, Unique ID, browsing data for: Store and/or access information on a device | Personalised advertising, advertising measurement, and audience research | Personalised content | Content measurement and services development | Use precise geolocation data | Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Some partners do not ask for your consent to process your data, instead, they rely on their legitimate business interest.
Proxy Research and Voting Services
Pennsylvania Treasury Department seeks to identify qualified firms to provide complete Proxy research and Voting Services for assets under Treasury’s direct investment authority. An electronic copy of the issuance may be obtained on the Pennsylvania Treasury Procurement website https://patreasury.gov/procurement/ under Request for Information, Active RFI’s. Please direct any questions to RFI26-001@patreasury.gov. Responses must be submitted no later than 5:00PM EST on August 13, 2026.
Outsourced Chief Investment Officer
The Invest in Oklahoma Board for the Oklahoma Taxpayer Endowment Trust Fund (the “Fund”) is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) services. The purpose of the Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit information and interest from qualified firms to serve in the capacity of an OCIO in managing a newly established portfolio of $200 million.
Why small-cap’s revival is punishing active managers and what pension funds are doing about it
July 16, 2026 12:35 PM EDT Small-cap equities are in the midst of a revival, leading U.S. public pension funds to take a closer look at their active managers that have not kept up with benchmark performance, industry experts say.
Illinois Teachers, Chicago Police launch new manager searches
Two Illinois-based pension funds have launched new manager searches in July.
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