September 26th, 2025
Good Morning Dakota,
Sonoma County’s pension board spent its latest meeting wrestling with how (and whether) public REITs can stand in for private real estate—and ultimately leaned on stocks and bonds as a cleaner proxy.
Meanwhile, trustees greenlit fresh fixed income allocations, Lexington cops and firefighters shifted assets into bonds, and big pensions from Texas to Italy kept the alternative deal flow rolling.
Let’s get into it…
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Dakota’s August 2025 Public Pension Brief shows continued momentum across 350+ public pension funds nationwide, with private credit leading the charge. Funds are increasingly targeting real estate value-add, data infrastructure, and energy transition strategies, while several systems—like Chicago Teachers and Arkansas PERS—are updating pacing plans and allocations toward alternatives. Leadership changes and new consultant hires underscore a broader evolution in public pension investment strategy and execution.
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Sonoma County Debates RE Strategy, Rebalances FI Toward Policy
The Sonoma County Employees Retirement Association (SCERA) weighed the pros and cons of using public REITs as a stand-in for private real estate exposure at its Sept. 24 board meeting—ultimately concluding the mismatch in correlation made the approach unworkable. CIO James Failor stressed that the fund instead mirrors real assets more efficiently through a mix of stocks and bonds.
The board also signed off on a series of portfolio rebalancing moves:
Core Plus Fixed Income: $6M to Reams and $7M to PIMCO, restoring target weights of 5% and 3.5%.
Bank Loans: $9M to Guggenheim, bringing the allocation back to 3%.
Core FI Bucket: Raised from 11.7% to its 12% policy weight.
Performance was strong in August, with the plan up 2.3%—beating its policy benchmark by 43 bps. Small caps surged 7% and Chinese exposures boosted international equities.
Trustees also discussed the regulatory “tug of war” over allowing private equity in 401(k)s, noting heightened SEC scrutiny around disclosures.
Investments & Searches
Lexington Police & Fire Pension – Shifted 4% from international equity to fixed income after an asset-liability study with Callan. Replaced Baillie Gifford and Guardian Capital with new ACWI ex-US growth and value managers; will reevaluate Acadian’s mandate once replacements are in place.
PSP, Onex, Ardian / ISC Deal – PSP Investments, Onex Partners Opportunities Fund, and Ardian are leading the acquisition of Integrated Specialty Coverages (ISC) from KKR. ISC management and employees retain stakes; KKR fully exits. Deal expected to close later this year.
Cassa Forense (Italy) – Expanded private markets allocation to nearly 15%, exceeding its 13% target for 2024–26. Invested €735M ($858M) in new alternative mandates this year, including €350M in private equity, across 150+ funds and 70+ managers globally.
Texas CDRS – Committed $25M to Silver Point Select Overflow Fund within its distressed debt portfolio (closed Sept. 22).
San Diego CERS – Extended Aon’s contract as investment consultant by one year, through May 2027. Extension allows time to implement allocation/structure changes and prepare a 2026 competitive search for a successor.
BP Pension Fund / L&G Buy-in – Legal & General completed a £1.6B ($2.1B) buy-in with BP’s £18B pension scheme, its first such deal. Advisors included Aon (lead), Linklaters, Cardano, Mercer, Redington, Macfarlanes, and DLA Piper.
Amtico Pension Scheme / Standard Life Buy-in – Standard Life completed a £52M ($69M) full buy-in for the Amtico pension plan in August. Barnett Waddingham advised trustees; Pinsent Masons provided legal support.
Other
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Appointed Adela Skenderasi as new CIO, effective Oct. 13. She succeeds Jack Mahler, who retires year-end. Skenderasi previously held senior investment roles at Brown Advisory, IMF, and Georgetown University, and will oversee the foundation’s public and private portfolios.
Ortec Finance Survey – Found 83% of insurers and asset managers expect to take on more investment risk in the year ahead, with private credit, private equity, and real estate among the top opportunities. Nearly 80% plan to increase spending on risk management tools, while all respondents expect higher AI investment.
WEALTH CHANNEL
IEQ Sees Secondaries Surge, Evergreens Reshaping Wealth Allocations
IEQ Capital co-founder Alan Zafran says the biggest shifts in private markets for ultra-wealthy investors aren’t just broad alt allocations—they’re secondaries and evergreen fund structures. With private companies staying private longer, secondary sales of high-valuation stock are rising, though disclosures remain limited, making “buyer beware” the watchword.
Evergreen and semi-liquid vehicles offer flexibility but often overstate liquidity, with cash tied to incremental availability. IEQ, managing $41.7B AUM and reviewing over 1,000 opportunities annually, emphasizes careful selection—committing to just 15–20 each year, half with familiar managers.
Zafran highlights the role of advisors in educating clients on operational realities, from K-1 timing to gating provisions. As secondaries expand and evergreen structures grow, wealth managers will increasingly need sophisticated approaches to channel private capital effectively.
M&A
Cetera RIA Acquisition – The Retirement Planning Group, an employee-based RIA under Cetera Financial Group, acquired HMC Partners, a Greensboro, NC wealth advisory firm with $425M in client assets. Co-founders John Hardy and Gib McEachran joined the deal; both were formerly with Summit Financial Networks.
GCEX / GlobalBlock Europe – London-based digital prime brokerage GCEX acquired GlobalBlock Europe, a crypto brokerage and asset management firm serving high-net-worth clients with $60M in assets. The acquisition expands GCEX’s offerings from OTC and tech services into a broader digital assets platform.
Advisor Moves
RBC Wealth – Veteran advisor Kevin Carey joined RBC Wealth Management as a financial advisor and managing director, bringing $1B in client assets from J.P. Morgan.
LPL Financial / Tennant Financial – A $1.3B advisory team led by Steven Tennant, Jeremy Berry, and Ryan Wade joined LPL in Ballston Lake, NY, primarily serving high-net-worth clients. Formerly with Northwestern Mutual.
Raymond James / Compass Advisors – Four advisors from Compass Investment Management, managing $350M in client assets, joined Raymond James’ independent advisor channel in Lewiston and Bangor, ME.
Osaic / AFC Planning Group – Two-person advisory team in Melville, NY with $110M in AUA joined Osaic’s Affiliated Advisors. Formerly with LPL Financial.
Dollar Bank / Cetera – Cleveland-based Dollar Bank hired George Giolekas to expand its Dollar Investment Services wealth program across 28 bank locations. Program operates via Cetera Financial Institutions platform.
Other People Moves
HSBC – Appointed Victor Matarranz (formerly Banco Santander’s global CEO of wealth management and insurance) as Head of International Wealth & Premier Banking for the Americas and Europe, effective Oct. 1. He will lead expansion across the US, Mexico, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, focusing on affluent and international clients.
Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank – Mahmoud Ezzedine, head of private banking and wealth management, is stepping down. He joined the bank in February 2022.
PRIVATE FUNDS
ORIX Targets Leadership in Lower Middle Market GP Financing
With private equity portfolio companies stuck in extended hold periods, ORIX USA is positioning itself as a go-to partner for middle-market sponsors seeking NAV loans, GP financings, and continuation vehicle structures. The firm, with $40B in AUM and $10B in proprietary balance sheet capital, aims to address the market’s historic structural imbalance—12,000 PE-backed companies today represent roughly 10 years of historical M&A volume.
NAV loans, typically three- to five-year facilities, fund add-on acquisitions and new platforms without diluting ownership. ORIX also provides GP financings for firms under $2B in assets, targeting management company enterprise value or specific value streams.
Since launching its GP Solutions business just 2.5 years ago, ORIX has ambitious plans: to become the leading solutions provider for middle- and lower-market GPs, helping sponsors unlock capital in a constrained environment while avoiding the liquidity-driven misconceptions often associated with NAV financing.
Private Equity
Ridgemont Equity Partners – AUM surpasses $11B as Fund V closes at $3.98B, oversubscribed against a $2.75B target. Fund V targets US middle-market companies and secured commitments from 100+ institutions, including Virginia Retirement System, LA Fire & Police Pension, and Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Evercore was placement agent; Kirkland & Ellis provided legal counsel.
Golding Capital Partners – Golden Secondaries 2022 Fund closes at €510M ($598.8M), its second dedicated secondaries fund. The fund, classified as Article 8 under EU SFDR, invests in resilient, cash-generative sectors such as services and technology. It follows a €280M predecessor and precedes a similar 2026 vehicle.
Mangrove Equity Partners – Targets $250M for Investors IV Fund, following Investors III which raised $175M in 2019 (oversubscribed). Tampa-based firm focuses on lower-middle-market non-commodity companies in the US and Canada, with a fundraising period exceeding one year.
Venture Capital
Touring Capital – Closed $330M inaugural fund targeting AI-powered software startups. Backed by global institutional LPs, family offices, and former founders; completed 12 investments worldwide since 2023.
DFF Ventures – Launched €60M ($70.5M) Fund III following rebranding from Dutch Founders Fund. Focus: vertical AI, re-commerce platforms, marketplaces. Typical investment: €250K–€2.5M ($293K–$2.9M) per deal; €50M already deployed.
ZeroPearl VC (India) – Raised INR 1.59B ($18M) debut fund. Plans to invest in 45 pre-seed and seed-stage startups across multiple sectors. Backers include startup founders, global FoFs, and family offices.
Type One Ventures – Filed with the SEC for Fund III, following Fund II ($50M) focused on space and deep technology startups. Fundraise expected to last less than a year.
Real Assets
Stonepeak – Targets $4B for Asia Infrastructure Fund II, following $3.3B first fund; invests in communications, transport, and energy.
Blue Owl & QIA – Launching $3B digital infrastructure platform seeded with data centers.
Fiera Capital & Canadian Carpenters Union – New CAD 800M ($575M) real assets strategy, split between infrastructure and real estate, aiming for CAD 1B ($718M) in three years.
Private Credit
Grays Peak Capital – Launches $500M Private Credit II Fund (GPPC GovCon) to support government contractors and defense ecosystem in North America, with initial commitments from existing Fund I investors.