# City of Dearborn

City of Dearborn is a Pension Fund based in Dearborn, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Dearborn, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Dearborn, MI, United States
- **Assets under management:** $481M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** www.cityofdearborn.org

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The City of Dearborn Retirement System administers pensions for two distinct employee groups: police and fire personnel under the Chapter 22 Revised Retirement System, and general municipal employees under Chapter 23. Both plans fall under a single pension administrator, Robert Festerman, with governance provided by a board of trustees chaired by Randa Dagher and vice-chaired by Alan Brzys. The mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, holds ex-officio authority over board appointments. The system deploys capital predominantly through external fund commitments rather than direct investments. Its strategy spans real estate and special situations, with known commitments to vehicles including Alidade Capital Fund V, TerraCap Partners funds, and the Entrust Special Opportunities Fund. This positions Dearborn as a limited partner in commercial real estate and opportunistic credit strategies alongside other institutional allocators. The fund-of-funds structure provides diversification across managers and geographies — a practical posture for a mid-sized municipal plan without a large internal investment staff. The system participates in the Michigan Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (MAPERS) and the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS), embedding itself in the governance and litigation networks that shape public pension policy. These affiliations provide access to manager research, fiduciary education, and collective advocacy on behalf of plan participants. The plans' legal counsel serves as general counsel for MAPERS. Dearborn's architecture is defined by its bifurcated plan structure under unified administration — a governance design common in Michigan municipalities, where police and fire pensions often carry distinct benefit tiers from general employee plans. The single-administrator model concentrates oversight in one professional while preserving separate plan accounting, a practice that balances administrative efficiency with legal separation of liabilities.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Private Credit
- Fund of Funds

## People

- Randa Dagher — Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Chapter 22 and Chapter 23 Retirement Systems
- Alan Brzys — Vice Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Chapter 22 and Chapter 23 Retirement Systems
- Robert Festerman — Pension Administrator
- Abdullah Hammoud — Mayor, City of Dearborn (ex-officio board appointer)

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the City of Dearborn Retirement System?

Day-to-day administration falls to Pension Administrator Robert Festerman. Investment decisions are governed by the Board of Trustees, chaired by Randa Dagher and vice-chaired by Alan Brzys, with oversight from Mayor Abdullah Hammoud as the ex-officio appointer. The system does not employ a dedicated chief investment officer, relying instead on external fund manager selection through its trustee-governed process.

### Does the City of Dearborn invest directly or through fund commitments?

The system deploys capital almost entirely through external fund commitments rather than direct deals or co-investments. Known commitments include Alidade Capital Fund V, TerraCap Partners vehicles, and the Entrust Special Opportunities Fund, reflecting a fund-of-funds posture across commercial real estate and credit-oriented strategies.

### How does Dearborn participate in the broader public pension community?

The system is active in MAPERS, the Michigan Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems, where its legal counsel serves as general counsel to the organization. It also participates in NCPERS, the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems, engaging in fiduciary education, manager research sharing, and collective litigation efforts on behalf of public plan participants.

## Related profiles

- [Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands](https://altss.com/profile/annenberg-foundation-trust-at-sunnylands)
- [City of Grand Rapids General Retirement System](https://altss.com/profile/city-of-grand-rapids-general-retirement-system)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/city-of-dearborn

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology