Illinois Teachers Shift Boost PE Allocation –

CHICAGO – The $22 billion Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System has adopted a new asset allocation mix that more than doubles its private equity allocation to 7%, boosting it by $880 million, said Executive Director Keith Bozarth.

The move also bumps international equities by 6%, or $1.3 billion. Bozarth said it has not yet been determined whether the private equity increases will result in manager searches, but he did not rule out the possibility. The fund is a little short of its previous 3%, or $660 million, private equity allocation.

“The next step will be to make recommendations to the board on manager structure,” he said. “[Searches are] possible. But our goal would be … to make use of existing managers where there’s a good fit.”

The board will consider manager structure at its October meeting. The new allocation was adopted in July following an asset allocation study completed by Michael Beasley of Strategic Investment Solutions, San Francisco.