Orange County Pensions Trades NEPC for Meketa

Orange County Employee Retirement System (OCERS) has traded in NEPC and has hired Meketa as its general consultant for the next five years. The decision follows what some call the “RPF from hell” issued by OCERS earlier this year.

The Chief Investment Officer has more on the decision:

Meketa will begin its five-year relationship with the $12 billion plan pending final contract negotiations. Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) also tapped Pension Consulting Alliance as a backup finalist.

NEPC has served as OCERS’ general consultant since 2011 and will finish up its obligations through 2016, the board said.

In a memo obtained by CIO, investment chief Girard Miller praised Meketa’s “broad organizational depth in a conventional consultant business model, with a larger overall staff, more research personnel, and capacity to assist the staff with bullpen managers.”

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In its pitch to OCERS’ board, Meketa presented a number of strategies that could save $8 million in fees per year and increase expected gains by $12 million per year.

The firm recommended OCERS reducing allocations to unconstrained fixed income and tactical asset allocation products and increasing private equity exposures over a five-year period.

Meketa has quoted a budget of $475,000 for their first year of service.