Sarasota (Fla.) General Employees’ Pension Fund has appointed Lazard Asset Management to manage an open-end global infrastructure strategy of up to $8 million.
Lazard was appointed following a shortlist search that named Cohen & Steers as the other finalist.
Lazard’s strategy objective seeks long-term, defensive, low-volatility returns that exceed inflation by investing in a range of global companies that are considered to be “preferred infrastructure,” according to a webcast of the pension fund’s July 13 meeting. Lazard was one of the first managers to launch a diversified global listed infrastructure strategy and now has $12.7 billion in assets under management.
The hire follows Sarasota’s recent creation of a 5 percent target allocation to infrastructure. The infrastructure target replaced the previous 5 percent target to master limited partnerships, which was experiencing volatility due to current market conditions. The assets were reallocate
