CalPERS Seeks Private Equity Investment Director

The $491.43 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is looking to hire a private equity investment director to oversee partial administration of the private equity program, according to a job posting on the pension fund’s website.

“As we continue to scale our global co-investment portfolio and leverage our data to improve decisionmaking, we’re seeking to hire a mission-driven investment director with extensive experience and relationships in global private equity, and a proven track record of successful investments with a reputable group,” Yup Kim, CalPERS’ head of private equity investments, wrote in a LinkedIn post.

CalPERS’ private equity unit invests in co-mingled funds, separately managed accounts, and co-investments with general partners, direct secondary investments, and fund of funds. Duties of the job include leading and monitoring the co-investment team, as well as overseeing the strategic development, implementation, and execution of the co-investment program. It also involves overseeing the analysis and evaluation of current investments and providing recommendations to the managing investment director, private equity senior management, and the investment committee board.

The private equity investment director will also be expected to proactively source and analyze co-investment opportunities and provide leadership and analysis in constructing private equity’s strategic and tactical investment approach, according to the posting. He or she will also assist the managing investment director in the oversight and evaluation of consultants and external advisers, ensuring that the pension giant’s private equity investments earn the highest rate of return at prudent levels of risk.

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The private equity investment director will lead and manage the investment managers, associate investment managers, and investment officers in the private equity program and assist in mentoring staff. Additionally, the investment director will be responsible for partial administration of the private equity program and will work with or coordinate the work of the investment office staff.

The job also entails overseeing the risk, reporting, and performance team, as well as overseeing the preparation of reports on portfolio analytics, including performance attribution analysis, benchmarking, strategy allocations, industry and geographic exposures, and cash-flow forecasting. He or she will also coordinate and present portfolio performance updates to the private equity team, senior staff of CalPERS’ investment office, and/or the chief investment officer as requested.

The pension fund said candidates’ qualifications should include:

In-depth knowledge and successful experience investing in various vehicles within the private equity sector to include exposure to co-investments, direct investments, and fund of funds;
A proven and successful record of private market investments;
Experience mentoring and developing staff;
Decisiveness combined with a commitment to foster a collaborative work environment; and
A master’s of business administration or an advanced degree in finance or another applicable technical field.

The deadline for applying for the position is Dec. 15.

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Tags: California Public Employees’ Retirement System, CalPERS, investment director, Private Equity, Yup Kim

The C$114 billion (US$89 billion) Ontario Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (OMERS) has joined a growing number of institutional investors pledging to make their portfolios net-zero of greenhouse gas emissions. The Canadian pension fund said it aims to hit that target by 2050.

OMERS, which has already pledged to reduce the carbon intensity of its total portfolio by 20% by 2025, in line with the Paris Agreement, said it currently owns more than C$18 billion in green assets, based on the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principles.

“As investors, we play an important role in working with our portfolio companies and making capital allocation decisions during the transition to a lower-carbon economy,” OMERS CIO Satish Rai said in a statement. “We believe that integrating ESG [environmental, social, and governance] factors into our investment approach is a more holistic way of assessing both value drivers and risk to deliver long-term, stable returns to our members.”

OMERS said it will follow the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to reach its net-zero goal. TCFD is a global standard that promotes climate-related disclosures by corporations and other entities. Its framework recommends making public details about governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets that are related to climate change.

The pension fund has formed a climate risk working group, which is comprised of risk professionals from each investment team and representatives from OMERS’ sustainable investing committee. The mandate of the group includes developing a framework to evaluate climate risk within the portfolio, as well as measuring the portfolio’s overall carbon footprint.

OMERS said it analyzes potential impacts to value or to risk—both positive and negative—where climate change impacts are considered material to a proposed investment. It also said that each of its asset classes has developed assessment procedures that are tailored to its investing approaches and strategies, and that it uses its influence to address climate change risks through engagement and proxy voting activities.

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In October, fellow Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) announced a new climate change strategy that it will use as a road map to achieve a net-zero portfolio by 2050. And in January, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPPB) also pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.