Article: STRS and "alternative investments"

Recent press release

Elsewhere in Ohio The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, with $58 billion in assets, has been putting money into alternative investments since the 1970s, said spokeswoman Laura Eckler. The fund has put about $1.2 billion, or roughly 2.2 percent of its total investments, primarily into private equity funds but also including some hedge funds. David Graham, a spokesman for the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, which has $9.7 billion in assets, said the organization has no investments in hedge funds, but is considering the idea to increase returns. "(The board has) been educated in some different kinds of hedge fund investing over the last year or year-and-a-half," he said, "and would likely make a move in that direction - if they are going to do it - in the next four to five months." Graham said it is unclear what portion of the pension fund's assets would go toward an investment in hedge funds. The School Employees Retirement System of Ohio, with $8.8 billion in assets, has no investment in hedge funds and no plans to consider them in the immediate future, said spokeswoman Laurel Johnson.