LACERA Issues RFP for System’s Real Assets Emerging Manager Program

The Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association is requesting proposals from qualified firms to implement the Real Assets Emerging Manager Program, covering real estate and real assets.

The mandate is to lead a separate account in a “manager-of-managers” structure to invest in funds led by emerging managers. LACERA seeks either a single manager to handle both real estate and real assets or two distinct managers to handle the different classes.

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The manager will be tasked with conducting evaluations of investment opportunities and providing detailed written recommendations, including results of investment and operational due diligence; monitoring and reporting on investments in collaboration with LACERA’s custodian bank; assessing the general partner’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; providing DEI metrics; assessing the general partner’s commitment to environmental, social and governance policy; and providing ESG metrics.

“The investment performance objective for this program, as measured by Internal Rate of Return, is an annualized return of respective benchmarks for each asset category over a 10-year time frame,” the LACERA RFP states. “This performance objective is net of all partnership fees, expenses and carried interest, as well as any manager fees, expenses, and carried interest, and is consistent with the Fund’s asset category return expectations.”

Submissions indicating a firm’s “Intent to Respond” must be submitted by February 8, while completed proposals are due by March 3. LACERA intends to select a manager implementing this program during the third quarter of 2023. Further instructions on completing a submission, along with more information on the opportunity, can be found here.