Tulare County Employees' Retirement Association

Investment Strategy

The Tulare County Employees’ Retirement Association manages approximately $3 billion in retirement assets for employees and retirees of Tulare County and participating special districts in California’s Central Valley. Operating under the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, TCERA provides defined benefit retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to its membership.

TCERA’s investment strategy is governed by a strategic asset allocation designed to generate long-term returns sufficient to fund benefit obligations while managing portfolio risk. The portfolio is diversified across global public equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, and other alternative strategies. The Board of Retirement sets allocation targets with assistance from internal staff and external investment consultants, reviewing the strategy periodically to ensure alignment with capital market conditions and the system’s funded status.

As a smaller county pension system, TCERA’s investment approach balances the benefits of private market diversification with the practical constraints of portfolio size. The system maintains a disciplined approach to liquidity management, ensuring adequate cash flows to meet benefit payments while deploying capital across a diversified set of asset classes.

Private Markets Approach

TCERA’s alternatives program represents approximately 15% of the total portfolio and includes allocations to private equity and real estate. The private equity program invests through commingled fund commitments across buyout and diversified strategies. Given TCERA’s $3 billion asset base, typical commitment sizes are in the $15-50 million range, positioning the system as a participant in mid-market and diversified fund offerings.

The system has built a focused portfolio of GP relationships, prioritizing managers with strong track records, experienced teams, and strategies that complement the overall portfolio. TCERA evaluates prospective managers on performance consistency, team stability, fee structure, and alignment of interests. The smaller commitment size means the system tends to participate in funds where its commitment is part of a broader institutional investor base.

Real estate allocations provide diversified exposure to U.S. property markets through commingled funds, with a focus on core and value-add strategies that offer a combination of income generation and capital appreciation. Real estate serves as both a diversifier and an inflation hedge within the broader portfolio.

TCERA works with external investment consultants to identify, evaluate, and monitor private market commitments. The due diligence process includes review of fund terms, strategy analysis, team assessment, and reference checks. All new commitments require Board of Retirement approval following a structured recommendation process.

Prospective fund managers should be aware that TCERA’s smaller size means it is most likely to participate in diversified commingled funds rather than concentrated or niche strategies. The system’s publicly available investment policy statement and board materials provide insight into current allocation targets and priorities.