LACERS Opens Its Search for a New CIO, Months After Rodney June Retired From the Los Angeles Pension After Nearly 14 Years

The Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System (LACERS) has opened a search for a new chief investment officer, months after Rodney June retired from the role in July 2026 after nearly 14 years. The job was posted on 27 October 2026, and the system is working with an outside executive recruitment firm. The posting describes a portfolio of about $28 billion, and LACERS reported $29.2 billion in total assets as of 31 August 2026. For fund managers, a CIO vacancy at a pension of this size is a reason to refresh your map of who decides, not a reason to pause.

What was announced

LACERS published the CIO opening on 27 October 2026. The posting describes a role that leads the investment division and its professional staff, manages the system's investment portfolio, leads a continuing re-evaluation of policies, processes and standards, formulates long-term investment philosophies and asset allocation recommendations in line with the system's fiduciary goals, and oversees investment programs across equities, private markets and hedge funds. June retired in July 2026. Earlier, in May 2026, LACERS put an investment leadership transition plan in place, and its meeting materials said the aim was seamless continuity of the investment program and of the implementation of its asset allocation policy. As of the latest reports we reviewed, no successor had been named.

June is a familiar name to LPs and managers who work with public pensions. He had worked at LACERS earlier in his career and then led investments at Hawaii's state pension system before returning to Los Angeles as CIO, so the seat has been held by one person for most of the last decade and a half.

The numbers

The portfolio is described in the posting as about $28 billion, while the system's total assets were $29.2 billion at 31 August 2026. The two figures differ by $1.2 billion, which probably reflects different dates and definitions rather than a change in the portfolio, though we cannot confirm that. The tenure that has just ended was nearly 14 years. Between the July retirement and the 27 October posting, roughly three to four months passed, depending on the exact July date, which was not given. The posting names three asset groups the next CIO will oversee: equities, private markets and hedge funds. LACERS has not disclosed its target for each group in the materials we reviewed, so we do not estimate how much capital the private markets sleeve represents.

How it compares

Leadership changes at pensions have come thick and fast this quarter, but most have been filled quickly. We reported that Ontario Pension Board named its chief pension officer as CEO 49 days after announcing a retirement, and that Alecta promoted its equities chief to run asset management. LACERS is different because the seat is open and a formal search with an outside recruiter is under way. We also reported earlier that LACERS renewed a $602 million PGIM emerging market debt mandate and trimmed its target to 3%. Taken together, the system has kept making portfolio decisions while it looks for a new chief.

The named LP

LACERS is a US public pension fund serving the employees of the City of Los Angeles. It runs a multi-asset portfolio that includes private markets and hedge funds alongside public equities, according to the posting. We do not have a verified figure for its commitments to private equity in the current year, its typical ticket size, or whether it backs first-time managers, so we do not offer any here. The CIO search matters because a new chief can reshape manager selection, pacing and the weight of different asset groups, and because staff at public pensions often keep a manager's name in front of the board for months after a first meeting.

What a GP should do

This section is our advice, not guidance from LACERS. First, do not read the vacancy as a freeze. The system said its transition plan was meant to keep the investment program and the asset allocation policy running, so existing relationships and board calendars still matter. Second, confirm who currently handles manager meetings and board presentations by reading recent board agendas, and refresh your contact list rather than writing to a title that is currently empty. Third, make sure your fund materials are current, including your track record, your latest fund terms and your due diligence questionnaire, so that a new chief or a deputy can read them quickly. Fourth, plan a short, specific note for the weeks after an appointment is announced, drawing on any warm introduction you can arrange through a shared co-investor or an existing manager. We set out how to write that note in our guide to outreach when an LP has no chief investment officer. Fifth, do not ask for a commitment in the first message. The incoming CIO will spend the first months learning the portfolio, and a note that offers useful information tends to land better than a request.

What to watch next

Watch for the announcement of a successor, for any change in LACERS's private markets targets once that person is in the seat, and for the next set of board agendas. FundLinx members can see which US public pensions are changing their investment leadership.

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