A Behaviour Analyst from Buncrana is offering a support service to parents and children in Inishowen and further afield.
When Roisin Doherty was completing her Masters in Behaviour at Queen’s University in Belfast, she recognised a growing need for support for parents in terms of dealing with difficult child behaviour.
In response to this, she set up The Child Behaviour Consultancy in 2017 and passed the board exam to become a Behaviour Analyst.
The aim was to create a friendly and confidential service that parents could feel comfortable going to where they could benefit from the expertise of a behaviour analyst.
They would also have the comfort of getting professional advice on how to make the adjustments they need, to resolve the behaviour issues that they were facing.
“The main things that parents who use the service generally are looking to address, is their child not doing as asked, difficulty accepting no, having tantrums, and displaying general negative behaviour,” Roisin told DonegalLive.
“It tends to be a relief to parents when they realise that there is help and support out there that can help them in their situation and in turn make day to day life much easier. Parents find that it is something that can really turn things around in terms of not just for them but for their child also, while also bringing about a much better quality of family life, with a lot less arguing and an overall better atmosphere in the home environment.”
Roisin consults with parents of children from three to 12 years of age to help them address child behaviour. The service is carried out through appointments, where the parents consult one-to-one with her, to find out why their child’s behaviour is happening, and most importantly what they can do to turn things around.
Roisin Doherty
The support was set up to help parents who might be struggling with their child’s behaviour. There are very few options out there to help them with this, so when they find out about The Child Behaviour Consultancy, it offers them the help and direction that they need.
The service has been based in Tullyarvan, Buncrana, since 2017. The reason it is set up here is because Roisin previously had worked locally in iCare and Scoil Íosagáin, so many parents were already familiar with her in the area.
However, she also recognised that dealing with difficult behaviour, was an aspect of parenting that a lot of parents all across the country were struggling with, so although the service is based in Buncrana, the option of parents having appointments via Zoom means the service caters for parents not just in Donegal, but all across the country too.
To book a Consultation parents can either call: 0894511432 or e-mail thechildbehaviourconsultancy@outlook.ie
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![](https://ukpropertyguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Why-Jury-Consultants-Are-Now-Essential-In-High-Stakes-Trials.jpeg)
An abridged version of this article previously appeared on Bloomberg Law, part of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc. (800-372-1033). The longer version includes additional background and detail, plus some “war stories” that Original Jurisdiction readers should appreciate.
Are reports of the jury trial’s death greatly exaggerated? While jury trials are less common than they were decades ago, we’ve seen a surprising number of them in the headlines in 2024: E. Jean Carroll’s civil case against former President Donald Trump for sexual abuse and defamation, Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal case against Donald Trump over hush-money payments, gun prosecutions of Hunter Biden and Alec Baldwin, and the corruption case against Senator Bob Menendez.
With the exception of the Baldwin case, which was dismissed mid-trial, all these cases went to verdict. And here’s something else they probably shared in common: trial or jury consultants.
“There’s been a big shift in the legal industry over the past 20 years,” said Dr. Eric Rudich, managing partner of Blueprint Trial Consulting. “In the early 2000s, senior partners might say, ‘Why do I need a consultant? I’ve done a million cases.’ But now they say, ‘I need a jury consultant to see how I should try this case.’ Today most attorneys and their clients view engaging a jury consultant as an integral part of their overall preparation for trial.”
“I have not gone to trial in 15 years without a jury consultant,” said Orin Snyder of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, one of the nation’s top trial lawyers. “Trying cases is a team sport, and even if there’s a captain or quarterback, an integral part of the team in modern jury practice is a highly skilled and effective jury consultant.”
So what exactly do jury consultants do? For starters, real-life trial consulting is nothing like the television show “Bull,” where Dr. Jason Bull (Michael Weatherly) was practically a mind reader—whose team also hacked into the computers of prospective jurors, which no reputable consultant would actually do. (“Bull” was highly unrealistic even though one of its creators, Dr. Phil McGraw, actually worked as a jury consultant before becoming the television personality known as “Dr. Phil.”)
Imagine a company is about to launch a new product. Before it does so, it engages in extensive research. It surveys potential customers. It comes up with different versions of the product and compares them. It convenes numerous focus groups to gauge consumers’ reactions. This is, in a nutshell, what a jury consultant does—except the product is their client’s case.
Trial consultants provide a wide range of services. They conduct community research surveys, convene focus groups, hold mock trials, assist with jury selection, and prepare demonstrative exhibits or visual aids to educate the jury. Trial lawyers and their clients can select from this menu of options, depending on their needs and budget.
This requires consulting firms to have “a lot of disciplines under one roof,” according to Renato Stabile of Dubin Research & Consulting. Stabile and DRC’s founder, Josh Dubin, are lawyers by training. But their staff of approximately 60 also includes experts in psychology, data science, statistics, graphics, and technology. Experts with Ph.D. degrees in psychology or communications are not uncommon in jury consulting.
Turning to jury selection, for which trial consulting firms are most well-known, the process more aptly would be named “jury deselection,” Stabile said.
“You can only get rid of people from the jury, either for cause or using peremptory strikes,” he explained. “Don’t fall in love with any particular person because if the other side is doing their job, that individual won’t make it onto the jury. The most important task is to remove the so-called ‘nightmare jurors.’”
And in high-profile cases, weeding out problematic jurors is easier said than done. Lawyers must watch out for what Stabile called “stealth jurors,” who don’t reveal their true feelings about the relevant issues because they want to be part of the case. As an example, he cited the Trump hush money case, where certain people in the jury pool claimed they could be fair and impartial—until postings on their social-media accounts suggested otherwise.
Stabile and his colleagues perform extensive research to inform their work. Before trial, they might conduct a community attitude survey, surveying thousands of jury-eligible individuals in the jurisdiction where the trial will take place.
This might be followed by a mock trial lasting two to four days. Lawyers or consultants present key evidence and arguments to perhaps 50 to 100 mock jurors, jury-eligible individuals who live in the jurisdiction and are paid for their time. Throughout the presentation, jurors use iPads to answer questions and provide reactions in real time, in the same way a focus group gives live feedback on a televised presidential debate.
After the presentation is over, the jurors are divided into smaller panels to deliberate for several hours, just like real juries. Provided with jury instructions and a verdict form, they’re asked to reach a decision. The lawyers and consultants watch the deliberations, either through one-way glass or recordings. After the deliberations, the consultants might ask questions of the jurors, to figure out why they decided certain issues the way they did—just as pollsters might do for a focus group.
Because there are multiple mock juries, the consultants and lawyers can detect patterns, to see what jurors consistently find persuasive or not. The consultants then write up their findings in research reports.
This research then informs what lawyers advance as key themes of the case; which witnesses they call, and how they prep them; which evidence gets used, and how it’s presented; how the lawyers write their opening and closing statements; what questions they ask of potential jurors, in questionnaires and voir dire; and which jurors the lawyers strike.
“I have not had any recent case where the results of a jury focus group did not materially impact my ultimate trial strategy,” said Snyder of Gibson Dunn.
In the biggest cases with the highest stakes, consultants might run multiple mock trials, over a span of weeks or even months.
“In a large case, the best jury research is iterative,” said Rudich. “You might use a first jury exercise to develop some potential themes and strategies, and then you do a second exercise to fine-tune those strategies.”
And then once a trial gets underway, consultants participate in the picking of the jury—a process that varies greatly, from court to court and even from judge to judge. Sometimes lawyers have a bigger role, and sometimes judges have a bigger role. Sometimes there are jury questionnaires, and sometimes there are not. In rare cases—like certain organized-crime trials, as well as some of the Trump trials—the jury might be anonymous, to the public or even to the lawyers.
The number-one factor in terms of how much jury consultants can make a difference is time. They can be maximally effective if lawyers are given lists of potential jurors well in advance of selection and the process is not rushed. A well-staffed consulting firm can research hundreds of jurors overnight, if given the opportunity. In contrast, if a judge speeds through the process or limits the questioning of prospective jurors, the consultants can’t add as much value.
As you might expect given all the work they do, hiring a jury consulting firm is not cheap. It can run anywhere from tens of thousands of dollars, for a limited exercise spanning just a few days, all the way into the millions—for hiring a consulting firm that joins the case early, assists in guiding discovery, works on developing the litigation strategy, and helps execute that strategy during a months-long trial.
In light of the cost, it’s important to manage client expectations about consultants. As David Oscar Markus of Markus/Moss, one of the country’s leading criminal defense attorneys, told me, “When clients are spending all this money on a trial consultant, we have to be clear with them: hiring a consultant is just another tool in the toolbox. Nobody is a magician or a miracle worker. We are hiring a consultant to maximize the chance of a good result.”
And good results are not guaranteed. Just ask Donald Trump, who hired consultants in the E. Jean Carroll and hush-money cases—and lost both.
Sometimes the facts, the law, or the pool of potential jurors in the jurisdiction are too unfavorable to be overcome. As a result, sometimes hiring a jury consultant actually ends in settlement rather than a trial, if the research suggests the case is too difficult to win. (Stabile of DRC noted that another reason trial consulting has grown as an industry is because litigation funders are using focus groups to assess trial risk and evaluate settlement offers, with trial-consulting services being used more frequently for due diligence and risk assessment.)
“Picking a jury is a combination of skill and luck,” Stabile said. “Sometimes you get bad bounces. There will be situations where a case just isn’t going to go your way. In the Trump hush-money case, for example, he was in a very difficult jurisdiction.”
So is hiring a consultant worth it? Most definitely, according to Snyder of Gibson Dunn: “Yes, it’s expensive—but if you have a client who can afford it, in every instance it’s a great investment.”
And nowadays, the push to engage a consultant often comes from the client.
“As trial practice has evolved, more and more clients are asking about focus groups,” said David Markus of Markus/Moss. “We have found focus groups helpful for several reasons. You get feedback about what themes resonate with jurors. You learn about what kinds of jurors are good or bad for your case. And working with a consultant also forces you to focus earlier than usual on a case, as opposed to doing all your prep shortly before trial.”
And then once trial is underway, Markus values the ability to have consultants doing social-media and other background research into potential jurors offsite, while he and his colleagues focus on what’s happening in the courtroom. In one case, the consultants tracked down a juror who was posting about the case on social media—repeatedly, in violation of the judge’s instructions. Thanks to their work, Markus was able to get that individual, whom he did not want on the jury, removed for cause.
Jury consultants can also help defense lawyers decide which witnesses to call and how to prepare them—or not prepare them, as Markus related to me.
“My friend David Gerger and I were representing an Italian national named Francesco Scaglia in a criminal antitrust case. He was this young, energetic, wonderful client, and when you spoke with him, he was engaging and funny.”
“Given the facts of the case, he had to testify. After trying to prep him for five minutes, with our jury consultant in the room, our consultant told us we had to stop. Francesco was terrible—stiff, trying too hard to memorize, and not being himself.”
“Our consultant told us to put him on the stand ‘blind’—without prep. This was terrifying to us as trial lawyers. We might spend days or even weeks prepping a client.”
“But we listened to our consultant and put Francesco on blind. He was great—charming, funny, and authentic. The jury loved him—and even though the trial ran four weeks, he was acquitted after less than two hours of deliberations.”
Jury and trial expert Robert Hirschhorn learned about the value of jury consulting in 1984, when he was going to trial in what he thought was an unwinnable case. He hired pioneering trial consultant Cathy “Cat” Bennett, a psychologist who started advising lawyers on jury selection as early as 1972.
After she revamped his case and he won, Hirschhorn was hooked on jury consulting. He went on to work for (and later marry) Bennett, and they picked juries together in several famous cases—including the 1991 criminal trial of William Kennedy Smith, in which their client was acquitted. A year later, in 1992, Bennett died of cancer—but more than 30 years later, Hirschhorn’s consulting firm still proudly bears her name.
Most jury consultants today rely heavily on data and mock trials. As Stabile of DRC told me, “We are big believers in following the data, even when it’s counterintuitive. While experience in a courtroom is incredibly important, and I wouldn’t discount the value of an experienced trial lawyer’s intuition, nobody will have tried enough cases to match the kind of data sets we’re working with.”
Hirschhorn takes a more old-school approach. Although he also collects data and conducts focus groups—which he claims are accurate in civil cases, on the issue of liability, more than 80 percent of the time—he believes there’s no substitute for looking a potential juror in the eye, in open court, and relying on your intuition.
“A lot of people want to make you think it’s all science,” he told me. “At least the way I do it, maybe 20 or 30 percent of it is science. It’s really instinct, with a little science sprinkled in there.”
“I’m all about reading people, and I don’t let my brain talk me into or out of a juror,” he continued. “A lot of other consultants rely exclusively on juror profiles—but if my instincts go against the profile, I’ll go with my instincts. I let my heart and gut lead the way.”
He shared the story of picking a jury for plaintiff’s counsel in an asbestos case. One potential juror worked for an insurance company. Most consultants would have recommended striking her from the jury, on the reasoning that insurance companies don’t like paying out money in personal-injury cases—but Hirschhorn did not.
“Why did I leave her on the jury? She was wearing a necklace with a crystal—a very out-there necklace, not what you’d expect from an employee of an insurance company.”
“So we kept her on the case, but it settled before a verdict. Afterwards, that juror walked up to us and asked how much we would have asked for had it gone to verdict. After we said $15 million, she said, ‘That’s not enough money in this case.’ And it was the necklace that gave her away.”
Hirschhorn has been picking juries this way for forty years. But he doesn’t think jury consulting will last forever.
“Consultants will eventually be replaced by AI,” he predicted. “In the beginning, the AI tools will just crunch data and produce demographic profiles, so they won’t replace us. But once AI progresses to the point where it can evaluate nonverbal communication, recognize emotion, and detect empathy, that’s when the game will change.”
“I don’t know if that will take 20, 30, 40, or 50 years. But it will happen—eventually.”
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Neal Ganguli has rejoined management consultancy AlixPartners as a partner and managing director in the automotive and industrial practice.
Based in Detroit, Ganguli brings more than 25 years of experience supporting automotive and private equity firms on general strategy and operations, as well as US EV and battery supply chains.
He has executed strategy and operational transformations at automotive and commercial OEMs, suppliers, industrial manufacturers, and e-mobility and automotive technology firms.
Ganguli most recently spent four years at FTI Consulting, where he was a senior managing director in the business transformation practice, and eight years at Deloitte Consulting, where he was a managing director.
He was first at AlixPartners between 2002 and 2007, when he was a director working with corporate and PE clients on performance improvement.
Ganguli began his career at McKinsey & Company, where he spent four years and was an engagement manager.
He has an MBA from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in electronics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
“We look forward to leveraging Neal’s vast experience and strategic vision to further enhance the capabilities and growth of our team,” said Mark Wakefield, global co-leader of the automotive and industrial practice at AlixPartners. “Operationalizing electrification and the future of mobility are of critical importance to our clients. This addition strengthens AlixPartners’ reputation as the leading consulting firm on these important topics.”
AlixPartners provides consulting in turnaround and restructuring, performance improvement, risk and disputes, economics, transactions, technology, and leadership. The firm has more than 2,500 employees across 20+ global offices.
AlixPartners recently hired Maher Masri as a partner and managing director based in San Francisco.
Projective Group has boosted its presence in the DACH region with the acquisition of Thede Consulting, a 45-person management consulting firm specialised in payments and digital transformation.
Established over 30 years ago, Thede Consulting helps banks, payment service providers and other players that rely on a payments infrastructure with optimizing and innovating their payments chain, from strategy through to execution. The firm is recognized for its expertise in the field, serving clients in Germany, Switzerland, and beyond.
Thede Consulting also has expertise in digital transformation, operational excellence, business model re-design, and technology implementation.
As part of the deal, Thede Consulting will join forces with Projective Group’s DACH business, lifting the regional team to over 100 staff across locations in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, and Zurich.
At a group level, Projective Group now has over 1,200 staff across Europe, with revenues at roughly €150 million.
“Thede Consulting’s expertise in payments strategy will be crucial as we work together to deliver tailored solutions in the payments sector. With the rapidly evolving payments landscape, increasing regulatory demands, and the rise of digital and real-time payment solutions, Thede Consulting joining Projective Group couldn’t be timelier,” said Stefan Dierckx, CEO of Projective Group.
Meanwhile, for Thede Consulting, the integration into the much larger group – and a recognized Payments practice – will enable the team to make more impact at clients. “Joining Projective Group broadens the range and quality of services offered to clients, as we can now cover the entire value chain, delivering true end-to-end solutions,” said Andre Standke, Managing Partner of Thede Consulting.
“It also enhances the capacity to manage larger and more complex projects, with a European reach.”
“Moreover, their culture with its people-first approach aligns perfectly with our values. As part of the group, we are convinced that we will create significant value for our clients and employees – truly an ideal match.”
As part of the deal, Standke and the three other managing partners of Thede Consulting – Jens Hegeler, Carlos Nasher and Eike Maybaum – have been appointed as equity partners at Projective Group.
The acquisition is Projective Group’s seventh since 2020, with deals concentrated around Western Europe.
Looking for a fresh start or a new adventure in Shepton Mallet?
The local job scene is packed with some enticing opportunities that are just too good to miss! From constructing markets to advising on tractor parts, there’s something for everyone.
Early risers and hands-on folks might be interested in joining the team at Wells Market as a Market Erector. Imagine spending your mornings setting up stalls and your afternoons taking them down, all while pocketing around £25 an hour. Not bad for staying active and soaking in the market vibes! Fancy giving it a go? Check out the details here.
For those with a knack for sales and a passion for making things tick, SGS is on the lookout for a Sales Development Representative. It’s all about inspection, testing, certification, and advisory services. Dive into the details and apply here if it sounds like your cup of tea.
Calling all car buffs and problem solvers! There’s a spot open for a Parts Advisor. If you’re someone who loves tinkering and knows their way around agricultural equipment, this could be your chance to shine. Interested? You can find more information and apply here.
![](https://ukpropertyguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Shepton-Mallet-offers-roles-from-market-construction-to-tractor-part.jpg)
Boots is also in the mix, offering a position for a Relief Pharmacist (file photo/Boots)
Boots is also in the mix, offering a position for a Relief Pharmacist. If you’ve got a heart for healthcare and a mind for medicine, this could be a great fit. Plus, the benefits are as healthy as the role! Peek at the perks and throw your hat in the ring here.
And who could forget Aldi? They’re looking for a Store Assistant to keep their shelves stocked and their customers smiling. It’s fast-paced, friendly, and a bit like being part of a small family. If retail therapy is your thing, apply here.
Last but not least, there’s a touching role available for a Targeted Support Worker, who’ll be making a real difference in the lives of vulnerable tenants. It’s all about support, empathy, and community—a truly rewarding way to earn your keep. Get the full scoop and apply here.
So, whether you’re looking to lead at the market, make sales smooth, provide health support, or help at the checkout, Shepton Mallet’s got something for you. Why not take a peek at what’s on offer? Your next great job adventure could be just a click away!
European consulting firm Eight Advisory has appointed two new partners in its French team.
Jean-Baptiste Blanco has been promoted to partner in the Transaction Services practice. He has experience in transaction services, financial due diligence, and managing distressed M&A projects, working with corporates and private equity firms.
Blanco has been with Eight Advisory since 2017, and is based in the firm’s Nantes office. Earlier in his career, he worked at Deloitte and had a brief stint at the French Auditing Court (Cour des Comptes).
Yannick Anselme meanwhile has been promoted to partner in the Finance Transformation practice. He has extensive expertise with helping organisations improve and modernise their finance function, the quality of their financial information and their processes.
Anselme re-joined Eight Advisory around one year ago in Lyon, having previously served the consulting firm between 2013 and 2015 following a spell at EY. In between, he spent close to a decade in industry, working as a manager at Danone and as finance director at a private equity-backed -sized French company.
Commenting on the partner appointments, Eric Demuyt, Managing Director and Partner at Eight Advisory, said: “I am confident that Jean-Baptiste and Yannick will continue to drive excellence and innovation in their new positions. This milestone is a testament to their hard work and our commitment to nurturing talent within the Eight Advisory organisation.”
![](https://ukpropertyguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Liberia-seeks-consultants-for-20-MW-solar-project-–-pv.jpg)
Image: Jadon Kelly/Unsplash
National utility Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) has opened a tender for consultants to oversee the development of a 20 MW solar project, which will be located in the northeast of the country.
The project will be built alongside the existing 88 MW Mt. Coffee Hydropower Plant, forming a hybrid scheme to improve energy efficiency, particularly during Liberia’s dry season when electricity demand is high and hydropower generation is low.
According to tender details, the chosen consultant will be responsible for providing technical expertise for the design review and monitoring the supply and construction of the project.
Expressions of interest must be submitted by August 12.
Liberia had installed only 3 MW of solar by the end of 2023, according to figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Last year, the country opened a consultancy tender for a 15 MW/10 MWh solar-plus-storage installation near Liberia’s capital Monrovia.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Fulcrum Care welcomes the recent report highlighting significant internal failings within the Care Quality Commission (CQC). As an independent national consultancy, Fulcrum Care has been at the forefront of supporting health and social care services, having worked closely with hundreds of care providers over the years. For context, Fulcrum supported 260 care services in 2023 alone. This extensive engagement has provided us with a comprehensive view of the challenges faced by the health and social care sector, particularly in the post-pandemic period, and more recently under CQC’s new ‘single assessment framework’.
In the past year, in the run up to and post the introduction of CQC’s new inspection framework, the health and social care sector has experienced significant upheaval. While the framework aims to streamline inspections and improve care quality, it has also led to increased scrutiny and pressure on health and social care providers. The new system, intended to be more flexible and data-driven, has instead resulted in confusion and fear among providers, leading to a punitive environment rather than a supportive one.
At Fulcrum Care, we have seen firsthand the devastating impact of CQC’s approach, not just on care providers, but also on the grossly under-reported impact on people who use health and social care services, their families and staff. We successfully prevented the closure of 32 care services last year, many of which were subject to enforcement actions that we believe were disproportionate. The overly stringent enforcement has not only placed undue stress on providers but has also driven many out of the sector, exacerbating an already critical shortage of high-quality health and social care services.
Furthermore, commissioning authorities and various other agencies, such as fire and environmental health services, have used CQC findings as a tool to beat care providers with, akin to a modern-day ‘witch hunt’. This aggressive stance has added unnecessary pressure on health and social care providers, who are already struggling with the post-pandemic challenges of staffing shortages, increased operational costs, and the need to adopt new technologies.
Our role at Fulcrum Care is to support and guide health and social care providers through these turbulent times. In 2023, we supported providers to deal with over 60 contract sanctions and onerous safeguarding reviews. Fulcrum has acted as an expert witness in numerous cases brought forward against care providers by CQC. Our commitment to improving care standards while safeguarding providers from undue enforcement remains steadfast.
We call for a more balanced approach from the regulator, whether in current form as CQC, or as is likely to happen, a reinvented form of it under a different guise. We would also call other associated agencies which work with health and social care providers who look after vulnerable people to support improvement through collaboration rather than punitive actions. The health and social care sector needs an environment where providers feel supported and encouraged to meet high standards, not one where fear of retaliation looms over every inspection.
About Fulcrum Care
Fulcrum Care is dedicated to enhancing the quality of health and social care across the UK. In 2023, we assisted 260 care services and supported 84 providers owning 676 services. Our interventions have been crucial in preventing care home closures, lifting embargoes, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. Our team of experts continues to provide invaluable support through audits, safeguarding reviews, and operational management.
For more information, please contact:
Rebecca Garnett-Buchma
Email: rebecca.buchma@fulcrum.care
Phone: 0203 411 4014
An opportunity has opened up for investment consultants to advise the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois on its $12.2bn real assets portfolio (€11.2bn).
The pension fund has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a single firm to advise on its investments in real estate and real assets, which encompasses infrastructure, agriculture and special situations.
Stepstone is the incumbent adviser for both portfolios and its contract expires at the end of the year. It is able to re-bid for the contract.
All responses to the RFP are due by 14 August. The pension fund expects to make a final decision on the search at a board meeting on 13 December.
The successful consultant would be involved in the management of the real estate and real assets portfolios, including making recommendations on new commitments and helping the pension fund’s investment staff in developing the annual tactical plan for both asset classes and recommending changes to the strategic plan as appropriate.
The two portfolios have a target asset allocation of 18% of the pension fund’s $70.4bn in total assets.
Most of this is invested in real estate, with a current exposure of 15.6%, just below its long-term target of 16%.
More than half (55.1%) of the real estate portfolio is comprised of core investments, with value-add and opportunistic making up 20.7% and 24.2%, respectively.
Half of the portfolio is invested with four separate account managers, while 32.1% is in closed-ended funds and 17.9% in open-ended vehicles.
The real assets portfolio makes up 2.9% of total assets, above its 2% target allocation. Most of the real assets portfolio (88.2%) is comprised of infrastructure investments, with the balance made up of agriculture and special situations.
All of the capital in real assets is invested through closed and open-ended funds.