Contra Costa Pension Fund Expands Private Market Exposure 

The Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association has approved four new commitments totaling $160 million as part of its strategic shift to expand private market exposure under its updated long-term asset allocation plan. 

On the private equity side, the pension fund committed $40 million to Arlington Capital Partners VII, a middle-market buyout fund focused on aerospace and defense, government services, healthcare, and technology sectors. In addition, it allocated $50 million to Arcline Investment Management, targeting specialty industrials such as life sciences, food and beverage, energy infrastructure, and microelectronics. 

In real estate, Contra Costa committed $30 million to Cloud Capital Fund II, which specializes in data center development and procurement for major global technology companies. The fund leverages assets sourced from developer CloudHQ and strategic acquisitions. The system also increased its prior allocation to Cross Lake CLREF IV, a land banking and residential development strategy, by $20 million—bringing its total commitment to $80 million. The vehicle invests across the Mountain West and Sunbelt regions, including selective rescue capital opportunities. 

These moves reflect the $12 billion fund’s broader effort to diversify away from legacy programs such as risk parity and high yield while building exposure to multi-asset credit and real estate debt. Implementation of the new targets began earlier this year and will continue through 2025, according to CIO Timothy Price.