[December 03, 2013]

CalSTRS Announces Investment Consultants Selection

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) today announced it has selected Meketa Investment Group and Pension Consulting Alliance as its general consultants to the Investment Committee.

Meketa Investment Group and Pension Consulting Alliance (PCA) will divide the consultant duties. The three-year contract will have an option of two, one-year, extensions and will be effective by July 1, 2014.

For 25 years, PCA has been the sole general consultant to the Investment Committee. PCA is CalSTRS' second investment consultant ever, since the investment branch became independent of CalPERS in 1983. CalSTRS' first investment consultant, Wilshire Associates, hired Allen Emkin as lead consultant for the CalSTRS account. PCA, which Emkin founded, became the consultant to the Investment Committee in 1988.

Meketa Investment Group was founded as an investment partnership in 1974. In 1978, the firm was incorporated under Massachusetts law and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commision as an investment advisor. It began by providing investment strategy and advising to Harvard Management Company - the endowment at Harvard University. Today the Meketa Investment Group consults for 90 clients with combined assets of more than $600 billion.

The consultants will work for the Investment Committee and with CalSTRS' investment staff.

"CalSTRS' quarter-century long relationship with PCA has been a fruitful one and we look forward to continuing it," said CalSTRS Investment Committee Chairman Harry Keiley. "However, we feel the growing complexity of the portfolio and the challenges of today's investment environment require the talents of two firms and Meketa and PCA rose to the top of a very competitive group. We want to build on the fine guidance received in recovering from the devastating losses suffered during the financial crisis to position CalSTRS' investment fund for long-term, future growth."

Meketa Investment Group and PCA were selected through a competitive process due to the pending expiration of PCA's current contract, which will expire June 30, 2014.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System, with a portfolio valued at $176 billion as of October 31, 2013, is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world. CalSTRS administers a hybrid retirement system, consisting of traditional defined benefit, cash balance and voluntary defined contribution plans. CalSTRS also provides disability and survivor benefits. For 100 years, CalSTRS has served California's public school educators and their families, who today number 862,000 from the state's 1,600 school districts, county offices of education and community college districts.

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