LACERA Puts a Private Equity Consultant Search and Three Committee Closures on Its 14 October Agenda, After $275 Million of Commitments

The Board of Investments of the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) met on 14 October 2026 with an agenda that touches how the pension chooses advisers, how its board is organised and how often it meets. LACERA had not published the outcomes when we wrote this, so this piece describes what is on the agenda and what the pension has already committed, not what trustees decided. The agenda follows $275 million of commitments reported at the board's September meeting: $200 million to Energy Capital Partners VI and a $75 million co-investment alongside AE Industrial Partners.

The private equity consultant search

Item VIII.C asks the board to approve the minimum qualifications, evaluation criteria and scope of work for a private equity consultant request for proposals. The memo is dated 18 September 2026 and was prepared by five members of the private equity team: a senior investment officer, two investment officers and two senior investment analysts. An RFP of this kind is the formal first step in renewing or replacing an adviser, and the criteria the board approves will shape who can bid. For GPs the practical point is that the firm that screens private equity managers for LACERA may change, and with it the research process that decides which funds reach the staff shortlist. The agenda does not say when a decision is expected.

A smaller committee structure and fewer meetings

Two items concern governance. Item VIII.A, from Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Grabel and Chief Executive Officer Luis A. Lugo, recommends dissolving the Real Assets, Growth, and Credit and Risk Mitigation committees, and asks the board to decide whether to dissolve the Corporate Governance Committee as well. Item VIII.B proposes six regular board meetings a year from 2027. If both pass, more of the discussion that now happens in asset-class committees would move to the full board, which could shorten the path from a staff recommendation to an approval. That is our inference, not a statement from LACERA. The agenda also lists a strategic asset allocation asset-liability study, presented by Deputy Chief Investment Officer Jude Pérez and Timothy Filla of Meketa, a reminder that the targets behind every commitment are being reviewed alongside the process.

What the closed session and the CIO report show

The closed session includes credit and private equity investment updates and an information-only item on a co-investment data security incident; the agenda gives no details. The Chief Investment Officer's report also tracks manager personnel changes. Mario Giannini, executive co-chairman of Hamilton Lane, retires effective 31 March 2027. Darrell Campos of DWS/RREEF plans to retire in spring 2027, with Catherine Minor succeeding him as lead portfolio manager. Blackstone has named David Levine and Gio Cutaia global co-heads of real estate, and Nadeem Meghji leaves at year end. LACERA records key-person changes at its managers, so GPs should expect questions about their own succession plans.

How the commitments fit

The $200 million to Energy Capital Partners VI came as that fund finished its raise. The fund closed at $8.1 billion in August against an initial target of $5 billion, so LACERA's cheque is about 2.5% of the final fund, a quarter we cover in our note on infrastructure fundraising. The $75 million co-investment with AE Industrial Partners was approved by the chief investment officer, which shows that co-investments can be approved at staff level without a full board vote. Another public pension also backs the same manager: Maine PERS has lined up up to $100 million for AE Industrial Partners Fund IV. The $200 million and $75 million are 72.7% and 27.3% of the $275 million, from two commitments.

The LP behind the agenda

LACERA is a county pension fund in California with net assets of $86.2 billion at 30 June 2025 and a net return of 9.7% for that fiscal year. It sits among the large US public pensions whose boards publish agendas and memos ahead of meetings, which makes it easier than most LPs to read in advance. Its pacing is different from that of Milwaukee's retirement system, which moved to pause private equity in 2027: LACERA's agenda points to process changes, not a retreat.

What GPs should do now

This is our advice. Do not lobby LACERA staff or trustees about which consultant should win, and follow any contact restrictions the RFP sets once it is released. Keep your co-investment materials and data-handling practices ready to describe, given the agenda's incident item. If you are a current LACERA manager, prepare a clear answer on succession and key people. If you are not, build a consultant-ready package now, and read our companion piece on writing to an LP while it re-tenders its consultant.

What to watch next

Watch for the minutes of the 14 October meeting, the release of the RFP and its timetable, and whether the committee changes take effect before the 2027 calendar. FundLinx members can see which public pensions are active in private equity this quarter.

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