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Cash Balance Plan for Partners & Sr. Staff of STB. LLP
Barrie Covit chairs the Simpson Thacher internal pension, which invests partner retirement capital across buyout, venture, and distressed debt.
Cash Balance Plan for Partners & Sr. Staff of STB. LLP
The Cash Balance Plan for Partners and Senior Staff of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP was established in 2011 to provide retirement, death, and disability benefits exclusively for the law firm's partnership and senior employee base. The plan is sponsored by Simpson Thacher itself and is governed by an internal Investment and Pension Committee chaired by partner Barrie B. Covit. Unlike a traditional corporate pension invested predominantly in public equities and fixed income, this plan allocates meaningfully to private alternative investments. The plan's investment strategy spans buyout funds, venture capital from seed through late-stage, distressed debt, and special situations. By design, the plan piggybacks on the firm's institutional proximity to private equity sponsors: Simpson Thacher is among the world's leading fund-formation legal practices. This creates a structural sourcing advantage where the plan sees fund opportunities directly from GPs who rely on the firm for their own vehicle structuring. Geographic focus is inferred from the firm's global private equity practice, concentrated primarily in North America and select European markets. The plan is overseen by a small group of senior partners. Beyond Covit, Elizabeth A. Cooper — the firm's Global Head of Private Equity — serves on the Executive Committee, while Greg Grogan leads the firm's Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice. The plan maintains a discrete Alternative Investment Portfolio based in New York, but the total capitalized value or annual deployment figures are not publicly disclosed. The plan's defining structural differentiator is its legally captive LP base and its embedded informational advantage — it is a pension vehicle for the partners of a law firm that drafts the limited partnership agreements for many of the general partners in which it invests. The governance model relies entirely on internal partners, with no external investment staff or OCIO relationship publicly identified. Succession and fiduciary oversight of the plan are tied directly to the firm's partnership governance structure.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
2011
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
New York
Corporate office
New York, NY, United States
Principals
Barrie B. Covit
Partner, Chair of the Investment and Pension Committee
Greg Grogan
Head of Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice
Elizabeth A. Cooper
Global Head of Private Equity, Member of the Executive Committee
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions for the Simpson Thacher cash balance plan?
The plan is governed by the firm's internal Investment and Pension Committee. The committee chair is Barrie B. Covit, a partner at Simpson Thacher. Other senior partners involved include Elizabeth A. Cooper, the firm's Global Head of Private Equity, and Greg Grogan, head of the Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits practice. The committee operates without a disclosed external consultant or outsourced chief investment officer.
Does the plan invest only in funds, or does it make direct co-investments?
The documented investment strategy covers a broad range of private fund commitments — buyout, venture capital, distressed debt, and special situations — but there is no public record of direct co-investment activity. The plan's structure as an internal pension vehicle for partners suggests a fund-of-funds or LP commitment posture, consistent with the firm's close relationships with private equity sponsors rather than a direct-investing operating model.
What is the relationship between the plan and Simpson Thacher's private equity practice?
The plan is sponsored by and legally tied to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, one of the world's preeminent fund-formation law firms. Elizabeth A. Cooper, who serves as the firm's Global Head of Private Equity, is a named business partner to the plan. The plan benefits from the firm's deep roster of GP clients, giving it unusual access to fund opportunities that are structured by the same institution overseeing the plan's governance.
Is the plan's size or AUM publicly disclosed?
No. Simpson Thacher does not publicly report the capitalized value or assets under management of its internal cash balance plan. As a single-sponsor pension vehicle for a professional partnership, it is not subject to the same public disclosure requirements that apply to multi-employer or government pension plans.
What geographic markets does the plan invest in?
Specific geographic mandates are not publicly documented, but the plan's investment activity is understood to be concentrated in North America, consistent with Simpson Thacher's private equity client base. Some exposure to European managers is likely given the firm's substantial London funds practice, though no specific allocations have been publicly confirmed.
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