CalSTRS to Review General Investment Consultant RFP

The investment committee of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System will review a request for proposals issuance at its January 8 board meeting, according to the pension fund’s investment committee meeting material. The contract of Meketa Investment Group Inc., the sole general investment consultant for CalSTRS since 2018, is set to expire on June 30.

If the consent action is approved, CalSTRS will issue a request for proposals for an investment consultant sometime this winter to start a new contract on July 1. Select finalists would be presented before the investment committee in March. The new contract will cover three years, five years or three years with two options of one year each, according to the meeting material.

“This item is placed on Consent if the Committee desires to move forward with the search and selection of the attached general investment consultant scope of work or can be pulled from Consent and discussed if the Committee desires a change [to the scope of work],” according to the board meeting agenda.

The draft general consultant RFP includes a list of services expected to be provided by the consultant, such as manager search and selection, performance analysis, asset liability management studies and other fiduciary work.

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Meketa was selected as co-consultant for CalSTRS in 2013 for general investment consulting services, with Pension Consulting Alliance LLC as the lead consultant. In 2018, CalSTRS made Meketa the sole consultant after issuing a new RFP, and in 2019, Meketa and PCA merged. According to a spokesperson, Meketa is eligible to apply to a new RFP.

In separate board meeting material, CalSTRS noted that assets of the fund grew to $352.5 billion as of November 30, 2024. The fund allocates 41.2% of its portfolio to public equity, 15.3% to private equity, 13.1% to real estate, 12% to fixed income, 7.9% to risk mitigation strategies, 6.5% to inflation sensitive assets, 2.1% to cash, 1.7% to collaborative strategies and 0.1% to strategic overlay.

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Tags: California Teachers’ Retirement System, CalSTRS, investment consultants, Meketa, RFP

NBIM takes a 45% interest in a 48-building U.S. portfolio, while the Canadian Pension Plan separately divested from a real estate joint venture in China.

Norges Bank Investment Management, the fiduciary manager of Norway’s $1.74 trillion sovereign wealth fund, announced Friday the acquisition of a stake in a logistics portfolio comprised of 48 buildings across the U.S.

NBIM purchased a 45% stake in the portfolio for $1.07 billion, valuing the portfolio at $3.265 billion. The stake was purchased from the $468.36 billion Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The other stakeholder in the venture is the Goodman North American Partnership, which will retain its 55% stake in the venture and continue to manage the joint venture’s assets.

According to a news release, the portfolio includes 1.3 million square meters of leasable area across Southern California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

On Friday, CPP Investments also announced that the fund had agreed to sell a 49% interest in four real estate projects in China—all joint ventures with Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. The proceeds to CPP Investments will be worth C$235 million ($163 million).

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The joint ventures included retail malls, along with connected office and residential properties, in Shanghai, Suzhou, Chengdu and Chongqing, according to CPP Investments. A news release noted that CPP still has multiple joint ventures with Longfor, which has partnered with the pension fund since 2014.

The divestment comes at a time when institutional investments in China are being scrutinized by lawmakers and regulators. In 2023, CPP Investments paused making new investments in China, Reuters reported at the time, citing sources. In March 2024, the fund cut 10% of its staff in Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg News, which also cited sources. A CPPIB spokesperson, however, denied that the fund’s investment in China has been halted.

“There’s no pause,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “Even as we pursue both relative, as well as absolute, returns in portfolio design and construction, it results in shifts across asset and geographical allocation.”