Investment managers brief trustees; committee discusses rebalancing and real estate exposure

Trustees heard investment manager updates from Adam Street Partners (private markets), AllianceBernstein (small/mid‑cap equities) and Kellogg LLC (monthly performance) and discussed portfolio rebalancing and real estate allocations.

Adam Street Partners (Scott White) reviewed the trust's private equity exposures and said the 2022 vintage for the trust had begun to produce distributions; the manager reported about 37% of the committed capital had been drawn, portfolio TVPI at roughly 1.2x and net IRR metrics in the high teens for the vintage. Adam Street said 2025 looks like a more normalized exit environment and noted opportunities in founder‑owned small and mid‑market companies, including baby‑boomer ownership transitions.

AllianceBernstein (Aaron Montano; Eric Tarinchak) reviewed the small‑and‑mid‑cap equity sleeve, noting recent relative outperformance in 2023 and 2024 after 2022 underperformance. AB said the small‑mid opportunity set is trading at a large discount to large caps relative to long‑term averages, which could signal potential upside for the asset class if that valuation gap closes. AB described the portfolio as relatively profitable companies with stronger expected earnings growth and said they use consensus wall‑street estimates for their metrics.

Kellogg LLC (Alex Ford) delivered a December 2024 performance update and placed recent market volatility in context: stronger-than-expected employment and mixed inflation reads had led to intraday market swings in late December and January. Kellogg noted domestic fixed income allocation was approaching its lower rebalancing boundary (about 21%) and that the investment committee was evaluating rebalancing to bring fixed income closer to the target allocation.

Real estate: trustees heard that one real‑estate manager (UBS) had underperformed and that the investment committee and Cowen had completed a year‑long search for a replacement; the committee presented a shortlist and recommended adding a manager (see separate article on TA Realty). Trustees discussed the need to avoid overconcentration when reallocating real estate assets and the committee's plan to transition selectively.

Why it matters: manager presentations inform trustee oversight of asset allocation and manager selection; the committee identified two portfolio actions under consideration: a domestic fixed‑income rebalance and a real‑estate manager addition to restore the trust's target exposure.

No formal votes were taken on manager hiring or rebalancing during the presentations, but trustees asked staff and Cowen to present formal implementation plans and timing to the board and the investment committee for approval.