# City of Milwaukee Employes' Retirement System

City of Milwaukee Employes' Retirement System is a Pension Fund based in Milwaukee, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Milwaukee, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Milwaukee, WI, United States
- **Founded:** 1937
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed (Altss estimate: ~$5.86B)
- **Website:** www.cmers.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.cmers.com/

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The City of Milwaukee Employes' Retirement System (CMERS) was established in 1937 as a cost-sharing, multi-employer plan to provide service retirement, disability, and life insurance benefits for municipal employees. Governed by the Annuity and Pension Board, the system is chaired by Matthew Bell, with Nik Kovac as vice chair. Day-to-day investment operations are led by Executive Director Jerry Allen alongside Chief Investment Officer David Silber. The pension operates a balanced strategy that spans public equities, fixed income, and a significant alternatives allocation. Within private markets, CMERS pursues exposure through real estate, infrastructure, private credit, and venture capital. The real assets portfolio includes commitments to Apollo Global Real Estate Management, LaSalle Investment Management, Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, and the Infrastructure Investment Fund as part of a broader co-investment and multi-manager framework. The fund also targets venture and growth-stage opportunities, with capabilities ranging from seed and early-stage to buyout and special situations. The fund participates in professional networks including the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS) and the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA). It also appears in the Callan Public Fund Sponsor Database, a data set used by institutional allocators to benchmark public pension portfolios. While team size and specific deployment figures are not publicly disclosed, the system's structure and manager roster point to a dedicated internal investment function with an estimated $5.86 billion in assets. CMERS differs from single-family offices and private foundations in its regulatory posture and fiduciary mandate. As a municipal pension, it operates under Wisconsin state law with a board-governed committee structure, a multi-employer cost-sharing model, and a statutory obligation to beneficiaries — a structural rigidity that creates a distinctive, often slower-moving but deeply relationship-driven investment engine compared to more nimble private allocators.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Infrastructure
- Private Credit
- Venture Capital
- Secondaries & Special Situations

## People

- Matthew Bell — Chair of the Annuity and Pension Board
- Nik Kovac — Vice Chair of the Annuity and Pension Board
- Jerry Allen — Executive Director
- David Silber — Chief Investment Officer

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the City of Milwaukee Employes' Retirement System?

Investment decisions fall under the office of Chief Investment Officer David Silber, who works alongside Executive Director Jerry Allen. The Annuity and Pension Board, chaired by Matthew Bell with Nik Kovac as vice chair, provides governance and oversight. This board-governed structure means major allocation shifts and manager hires get reviewed by a committee of appointed officials.

### What is the fund's posture on venture capital?

The system's investment mandate includes venture capital exposure spanning seed, early-stage, and growth. This is balanced against a much larger portfolio of buyout, distressed debt, mezzanine, and special situations strategies, positioning venture as a measured but intentional sleeve within the broader alternatives allocation.

### Does the system participate in co-investments?

Yes. The documented strategy includes co-investment capability alongside its primary fund commitments. Co-investment rights are often negotiated within existing limited-partner relationships, giving the system a path to increase exposure to specific assets without paying the full management-fee stack.

### How is the pension governed?

Governance sits with the Annuity and Pension Board, which includes Chair Matthew Bell and Vice Chair Nik Kovac. The executive team handles day-to-day asset management under this board. As a public pension, the system must comply with Wisconsin state statutes and municipal reporting requirements, which creates a more transparent but procedurally complex operating environment than a family office.

### What is the fund's footprint in real estate and infrastructure?

Real estate and infrastructure form a core part of the private-markets portfolio. Manager relationships include Almanac Realty Investors, Colony Capital, and Principal DRA, spanning commercial and mixed-use assets. The infrastructure sleeve gains exposure globally through the Infrastructure Investment Fund, diversifying the system's real-asset risk away from a single geography.

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

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/city-of-milwaukee-employes-retirement-system-cmers

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