New Jersey Seeks New Talent to Boost Alternatives

The New Jersey Division of Investment is hiring three senior managers to expand its alternatives team and portfolio, according to the state’s Department of Treasury.

The new employees will work in real estate, real assets, private equity, and hedge funds.

“We are building out the alternative investment team given the scope of the current portfolio and activity expected going forward,” Chris Santarelli, spokesperson for the treasury department, said.

According to the 2013 annual report, the New Jersey pension funds returned 11.63% on their alternative investments and had allocated more than 30% of its total assets to the bucket for the fiscal year. A more recent report said the division of investment had committed $12 billion to private equity through the end of April.

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The Division of Investment, which manages the state’s $78 billion in assets across seven pension plans, said it is looking for investment professionals with “exceptional leadership skills and understanding of financial markets, alternative investments, and pension fund operations.”

Specifically, the new managers will be responsible for developing plans to invest towards the schemes’ desired long-term target allocation towards these asset classes. They will also seek out attractive opportunities, perform due diligence, negotiate partnerships, and manage outside consultants.

The division is seeking candidates with five years of general investment experience and at least three years of directly related experience in alternative asset classes at an institutional investment organization. A bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or a related field is required while higher degrees such as MBA and/or CFA and CAIA are preferred.

The ideal applicant would also have significant experience building and managing investment programs, leading due diligence processes, monitoring investments, and maintaining successful relationships with managers and consultants. He or she would also have a strong understand of capital markets, comprehensive quantitative modeling capabilities, and excellent communication skills, according to the job posting.

Santarelli told CIO the division is looking to select the new employees by late September.

The treasury department will be accepting applications through the end of July via email at HumanResources@treas.state.nj.us.

Related Content: New Jersey Faces Further Downgrade over Pensions

The UK’s national defined contribution (DC) pension plan has added to its emerging market offerings and hosted a smart beta fund on its investment platform in its first foray into alternative indexing.

The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) has chosen funds managed by HSBC Global Asset Management and Northern Trust to access emerging market economies.

The HSBC fund uses an alternative index lens while the the Northern Trust fund uses an environmental, governance, and social screen.

“This is our first exposure to alternative indexing and reflects two of NEST’s investment beliefs that indexed management, where available, is generally more efficient than active management and that integrating valuation considerations into the investment process can enhance our long-term performance,” said Mark Fawcett, CIO of NEST.

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“Indexed management… is generally more efficient than active management,” Mark Fawcett, CIO, NEST.

“We want to capitalise on growth and rewarded risk no matter where it is in the world and these emerging market mandates give us greater control of our exposure to this important asset class.”

The plan already has exposure to emerging markets through a BlackRock fund, while investors will access the two new offerings through a blended approach.

NEST said the move provided “greater flexibility” for its “dynamic risk management approach”.

The scheme was launched to coincide with mandatory auto-enrolment of the majority of UK workers. It is expected to be one of the world’s largest DC plans, eventually growing to manage tens of billions of pounds for the country’s workforce. It is a multi-employer, low-cost plan that is available to the several million-strong labour force.

Last year, Fawcett told Chief Investment Officer about its plan to “recycle” illiquid assets held on the platform between maturing cohorts and those remaining in the fund.