Colorado PERA has launched a new online portal designed to engage with the emerging investment manager community.
PERA staff developed an online application where asset management firms can submit firm and product profiles to the PERA investment department for review.
Investment managers are considered to be “emerging,” rather than traditional, based on their investment track record and the size of the total assets they have under management, or controlling “assets under management” (AUM) under a certain threshold. Emerging managers tend to be from small, boutique asset management firms.
Specifically, emerging managers will meet specific parameters for each of PERA’s asset classes.
- For global equities and fixed income, $2 billion or less in assets under management.
- For private equity and real estate, a minimum of $50 million and a maximum of $500 million in each of either a first or second fund.
- For the opportunity fund, a minimum of $50 million and a maximum of $500 million in each of either a first or second fund or a perpetual investment and not more than five years of operating history.
“Our new portal serves as a centralized, in-house repository of potential investment opportunities. The portal will make it easier for us to include appropriate emerging managers when the right investment opportunities develop,” said PERA Chief Investment Officer Jennifer Paquette.
As a multi-billion dollar institutional investor, PERA looks for innovative ways to increase engagement with investment managers, including emerging managers.
“Colorado PERA is committed to engaging with the investment manager community. We think managers will find that the portal is easy to use and can be completed with data that is easily accessible,” said Amy McGarrity, PERA Deputy Chief Investment Officer. “Although PERA has a long and proven history of internal asset management, we also utilize external managers. There may be areas in which our external capabilities would be enhanced by the use of emerging investment managers. The portal will facilitate increased communication and engagement with both the traditional and emerging manager communities,” McGarrity continued.
Read more about emerging manager trends.