Orange County, Calif., hires Townsend Group

The Orange County (Calif.) Employees Retirement System’s investment committee has approved the action to hire The Townsend Group for its real estate consulting services, according to a board meeting summary report.

Townsend Group was a finalist selected as part of the Illiquid Investments Advisory Services RFP that was issued in September 2017. As part of the process, the firm made an initial presentation to OCERS’ staff in early December 2017, and hosted on-site due diligence meetings in January 2018.

In additional news, OCERS has reported a total fund return of 2.5 percent (net of fees) in the month of January, with a trailing one-year return of 15.4 percent as of Jan. 31, 2018, and an 8.2 percent gain when looking at the trailing three-year period. For the trailing five-year span, OCERS recorded a 7.7 percent gain.

OCERS’ also reported that its total fund was at an all-time high of $16.1 billion.

OCERS has a target allocation to real estate of 10