Sean Ross has taken the helm of the $2 billion private markets portfolio of the Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado. And, though far along in its search, Ross’s team still has an opening for a senior investment analyst.
Ross, who has worked 14 years for the $7.5 billion, Denver-based pension, took over as director of private markets in the early summer, Chief Investment Officer Scott Simon told Private Equity Career News this week in a Zoom interview. Ross’s predecessor, Dale Martin, left to join New Haven, Connecticut-based LP advisory shop Great Mountain Partners as a managing director, according to his Linkedin profile.
The Portfolio: Reporting to Ross, the senior investment analyst would be part of a four-person private markets team in a roughly 13-person investment division. At Colorado Fire & Police, the private markets portfolio includes a roughly $277 million real assets portfolio (value as of year-end), $300 million real estate portfolio and $1.4 billion private capital portfolio, which includes both private equity and private credit. Its target allocation to private markets is north of 30 percent—high for a public pension. According to Simon, the pension fund has a particularly young set of beneficiaries, giving it ample flexibility to invest in illiquid asset classes.
The Strategy: This year, according to Simon, the pension fund has been moving away from core real estate and more toward opportunistic strategies. On the real assets side, it has been weaning itself from one particular manager relationship to diversify into infrastructure, energy and other strategies. In private capital, the pension fund has centered largely on re-ups. All told, the pension fund expects to commit roughly $300 million to some 20 funds and co-investments in 2023, at the low end of its target range, said Simon. Last year Colorado Fire & Police committed $344 million to 25 funds and co-investments in private markets.
The Opening: More than 250 people applied for the senior investment analyst position. The pension fund has narrowed that pool down to just a handful of candidates. But while it is “towards the end of the process,” said Simon, the pension would still consider candidates that throw their hats in the ring this week. It is particularly interested in getting candidates with at least 10 years of investment experience. The salary range for the position is $140,000 to $160,000 and includes incentive compensation.
The Culture: The winning candidate will join a pension fund offering a favorable work-life balance in a location with a sunny climate and close to the mountains, said Simon. Employees are generally expected to work in the office three days each week in the office. They have a lot of discretion to assemble what Simon called a “bottom’s up portfolio” of strong fund managers. The team, he said, “gets to really put whatever they think is best into the portfolio.”
Correction: Simon is our source for the “Strategy”section, not Ross as reported in the original version of this article.