Danita Johnson
The New Hampshire Retirement System named Danita Johnson as its head of private markets, effective July 14. Johnson reports to Raynald Leveque, the NHRS CIO.
Johnson’s position, filled by a nationwide search conducted by Wilbanks Partners, is new and is part of a multi-year effort to bring a larger share of the pension fund’s investment decisionmaking in-house.
“Danita is a key part of our long-term strategic plan to bolster our investment team and expand our bench of investment talent,” Leveque said in a statement.
Smaller institutional funds are increasingly bringing their investment operations and management in house in order to more directly control their investments and reduce both fees and the need to rely on external providers.
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Johnson was previously managing director of investments at the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, managing an $11 billion real assets portfolio which included the fund’s real estate, infrastructure, energy and natural resources investments.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the New Hampshire Retirement System, an organization known for its thoughtful approach to long-term investing and commitment to its members,” Johnson said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the investment team, the Independent Investment Committee and the Board of Trustees to strengthen the private markets portfolio through disciplined and innovative strategies that support the system’s long-term objectives.”
Before working for the Maryland pension system, Johnson held investment leadership roles at Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, Franklin Templeton Investments and the New York City Retirement System.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
NHRS managed $12.6 billion in assets as of December 31, 2024. The fund, as of the end of 2024, allocated 31.83% of its assets to domestic equities, 21.29% to fixed income, 18.58% to non-U.S. equity, 17.79% to alternative investments, 7.78% to real estate and 1.72% to cash.
The pension fund provides retirement benefits for 470 local government employers in New Hampshire, including 48,900 active members and 45,000 benefit recipients.
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Tags: New Hampshire Retirement System, NHRS
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