VCERA Eyes $220M Private Credit Target; LACERS Terminates $524M Mandate

VCERA Eyes $220M Private Credit Target

LACERS Terminates $524M Mandate

Ventura County Employees' Retirement Association staff and consultant NEPC jointly recommended $60M in private credit commitments – $50M to Kennedy Lewis Capital Partners in a follow-on to an existing relationship and a $10M add-on to a credit secondaries position – bringing VCERA's total to $150M against a $220M pacing target set after the board raised its private credit allocation from 8% to 10%.

Other pension updates included Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System committing $50M to a core real estate vehicle and approved the termination of Lazard Asset Management as its active non-US equities manager, redirecting approximately $524M to passive index strategies. Elsewhere, Fairfax County Educational Employees' Supplementary Retirement System committed $43.5M across seven private markets vehicles spanning direct lending, energy, growth equity, venture, and infrastructure.

In a recent wealth channel development relevant to alts managers, Scott DeSantis led a $1B breakaway from Northwestern Mutual Investment Services to launch Civic Financial, a Boston-based HNW-focused RIA with a $1M account minimum targeting clients from entrepreneurial, hedge fund, PE, and biotech backgrounds. DeSantis told Dakota his clients aren't looking for a watered-down alts sleeve – they want access to funds and opportunities that couldn't find a home on large institutional platforms.

In senior leadership developments, the Scherman Foundation named George Suttles as its next president and CEO, succeeding Mike Pratt, who is retiring after 17 years leading the organization. Suttles was most recently executive director of Commonfund Institute and has been a member of Scherman's board since last year. Separately, at the Oman Investment Authority, Mahmoud Al Khatri was promoted to senior manager for fund investments, overseeing portfolio construction, manager selection, and asset management for the sovereign wealth fund.