Kirk Sims has joined the $153.1 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas as its new emerging manager program director.

Sims, who joined the plan on March 1, oversees its $5.7 billion emerging manager program and is responsible for managing the day-to-day oversight on its emerging manager portfolio consisting of private and public market investments while also representing the plan in the emerging manager marketplace at conferences and events. He will report directly to Deputy CIO Jase Auby.
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The $17.6 billion New York State Insurance Fund will look to invest more than $1.8 billion in external managers across private markets, non-investment grade fixed-income and investment grade municipal fixed-income as part of a new strategic asset allocation approved last year, CIO Gregory Francis told attendees of NYSIF’s 9th Annual M/WBE Investment Symposium held last month.
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Women executives in the institutional investment management industry have been forced to take risks such as creating their own firms in order to reach their current heights, according to panelists at last month’s Women Who Lead and Influence event organized by Bloomberg.
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Kevin Leonard, head of the public fund practice at investment consulting firm NEPC, provided candid insights into the firm’s work to expand its efforts in sourcing and investing with emerging and women- and minority-owned asset managers during a panel at the New York State Insurance Fund’s 9th Annual M/WBE Investment Symposium held on Feb. 27.

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The OCIE’s National Examination Program Risk Alert “Observations from Investment Adviser Examinations Relating to Electronic Messaging” is to remind advisers of their obligations when they allow personnel to use electronic messaging, and to help advisers improve their systems, policies and procedures by sharing the staff’s observations with regard to Rules 204-2 (Books and Records) and 206(4)-7 (Compliance Programs).
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By Elizabeth Cope, SEC Compliance Solutions

Did you see the SEC’s Risk Alert on Electronic Messaging? We did! And let us start by saying, this Risk Alert was actually really helpful!
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The $17.1 billion Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System has be-gun a domestic small-cap equity search that is open to emerging managers and includes a target of approximately $150 million to emerging managers-of-managers.
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The $153 billion Teacher Retirement System of Texas is nearing inaugural real estate and private equity investments for its Emerging Manager Select program, according to video from the plan’s Feb. 21-22 board meeting.
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The $1.6 billion Milwaukee County (Wis.) Employees Retirement System was scheduled to discuss an emerging manager program at its January meetings.

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The $4.8 billion Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement terminated domestic large-cap value equity manager AJO at its Feb. 21 board meeting over issues related the firm’s performance as well as the lack of use of minority broker-dealers.
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The $17.1 billion Kentucky Retirement Systems has appointed Rich Robben as executive director and Andy Kiehl as deputy executive director for the plan’s office of investments, effective April 1, KRS Executive Director David Eager confirmed.
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The $1.8 billion City of Baltimore (Md.) Employees’ Retirement System named David Randall as its new executive director at its Feb. 21 board meeting, he said.
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Investment consulting firm Marquette Associates’ three largest shareholders will sell 30% of their ownership to the existing shareholder base, the firm announced.
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