As part of its plan to expand into private markets and insource more of its investment decisions, the New Hampshire Retirement System has appointed Danita Johnson as head of private markets.
An NHRS spokesperson told Institutional Investor in an email that the pension board wants to diversify its $12.6 billion portfolio to weather volatility and also capitalize on potential higher returns offered by private equity, real estate and other alternative investments.
The former Maryland Retirement managing director was hired for this newly created position “to bring more investment decision-making activities in-house” for the pension, according to the pension. Johnson reports to chief investment officer Raynald Leveque, who said in a news release that she “is a key part of our long-term strategic plan to bolster our investment team and expand our bench of investment talent.”
Johnson added in the release that she planned “to strengthen the private markets portfolio through disciplined and innovative strategies that support the system’s long-term objectives.” The retirement system’s assumed rate of return of 6.75 percent.
“Johnson will bring her private market acumen and deep expertise to the management of NHRS’ investments,” said NHRS executive director Jan Goodwin. “Private market investments are an important part of our portfolio and help us with investment diversification during these challenging times in the market to ensure that we can pay all of the retirement benefits earned by our members.”
Prior to joining NHRS, Johnson oversaw the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System’s $11 billion real assets portfolio as a managing director. She also held investment leadership roles in real assets with the State of Connecticut Retirement Plans, Franklin Templeton and the New York City Retirement System, after starting out as a securities analyst at Credit Suisse and then Prudential Financial.
NHRS has about $3.4 billion in private market assets, or 27 percent of its total plan assets. This includes roughly $2.2 billion in private equity and private credit and about $1.2 billion in real estate, although the spokesperson said that infrastructure is a new asset class yet to be funded. The plan posted a net return of 8.8 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. Its three-, five-, and 10-year net returns for the period ending June 30, 2024, were 3.4 percent, 7.7 percent, and 7.0 percent, respectively.
The state plan intends to expand its investment office by hiring experienced staff to reduce reliance on external managers and lower costs. It also aims to develop internal middle- and back-office capabilities like cash flow management and exposure tracking to increase operational self-sufficiency and improve investment performance.
