Sacramento County accelerates private equity pacing for 2026

Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System has set its private equity pacing for the upcoming year, targeting a higher sum than it deployed in 2025.

During the pension fund’s November 19 meeting, board members agreed to set a private equity pacing of $300 million for 2026, a notable increase on the $235 million that the pension invested this year. Buyouts listened in on the meeting.

Sacramento County intends to split the $300 million in commitments between five and nine different funds, with commitments averaging around $40 million each.

The pacing is being set at a more conservative rate, according to Sacramento County’s investment staff, to help bring the pension closer to its 11 percent private equity target, having previously been overallocated to the asset class.

In 2022, Sacramento County took the decision to reduce its pacing from $340 million to $260 million for 2023, as previously reported by Buyouts. The decision was made while the pension fund’s private equity exposure stood at 15.4 percent, well above the 11 percent target. The pension’s actual private equity exposure now stands at 11.4 percent, according to Buyouts data.

Since the cut in 2023, this is the first year that Sacramento County has increased its commitment pacing to the asset class.

In addition to setting its pacing, Sacramento County also intends to act as an opportunistic seller of private equity assets, according to meeting materials. The fund’s investment staff noted that incremental sales of assets would help to continue to keep its private equity exposure close to target.

Sacramento County’s investment staff highlighted that the 2026 commitments would adhere to a strategy of committing to specialist buyout funds, while potentially scaling back commitments to venture capital assets.

The investment staff went on to note that re-upping investments would also be a significant part of the pacing focus.

This year, Sacramento County made four direct investments totaling $135 million, along with a $100 million follow-on investment to a co-investment buyout manager. The pension intends to make the same investment this year.