New Video – 243,000 Ohio Educators Depend on Private Equity Investments
Today, the American Investment Council (AIC) released the fourth and final video in a new series of interviews conducted by Hill TV examining how private equity investments are supporting the retirements of dedicated public servants across America. Today’s video features an interview with Farouki Majeed, who is the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the Ohio School Employees Retirement System (Ohio SERS). Majeed discusses how private equity helps generate higher returns for public pension funds like Ohio SERS:
“We believe that the investment strategy that we’ve adopted in private equity has generated the kind of returns and success that we’ve had,” said Ohio SERS Chief Investment Officer Farouki Majeed. “Our partners that we invest with in a fund typically acquire a private company … through their investments and management, they increase the operational efficiencies of these companies and generate higher revenues and earnings. When they are ready to exit that investment five or six years down the road, they are able to sell it for a much higher price.”
The American Investment Council recently released its annual public pension study, which examined the investments and returns of America’s largest public pension funds. Ohio SERS placed fifth in the rankings, with Ohio’s more than 243,000 state educators benefitting from a 15.03 percent annualized 10-year return from private equity investments. Majeed finished the interview by discussing how Ohio SERS is working with private equity to prioritize Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals and initiatives:
“Many asset managers have incorporated [ESG] factors into their investment policies including the U.N. Principles for Responsible Investing. This is something that has gained more interest with asset managers as well as institutional investors like us. We work to ensure that the private equity investment partners that we work with have those kinds of approaches to investments and the way they manage companies in their portfolios.”
Majeed’s interview with The Hill is the fourth and final in a new series of videos which feature experts with first-hand knowledge of how private equity supports public pension beneficiaries. Watch the full interview here.
Watch the previous interviews in the series:
- Illinois State Board of Investment Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer Johara Farhadieh here.
- West Virginia Investment Management Board Private Equity Officer Jim Herringtonhere.
- Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri Chief Investment Officer Craig Husting here.
Read the American Investment Council’s recently released public pension report here.
