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City of Omaha Police & Fire Retirement System
The City of Omaha Police & Fire Retirement System (COPFRS) provides defined-benefit pensions for sworn public-safety employees of Nebraska's largest city.
City of Omaha Police & Fire Retirement System
The City of Omaha Police & Fire Retirement System (COPFRS) provides defined-benefit pensions for sworn public-safety employees of Nebraska's largest city. Finance Director Stephen Curtiss serves as the primary administrative contact for the plan, with Board of Trustees representation from John Wells, President of the Omaha Police Officers Association, and leadership of the Omaha Professional Firefighters Association — the two labor unions whose members constitute the plan's beneficiary base. The plan sponsor is the City of Omaha. COPFRS has built its alternatives program around secondaries — purchasing limited-partner interests from investors seeking early liquidity rather than committing to new primary funds. This emphasis on secondaries spans multiple vintages and fund types, creating a portfolio shaped more by discounted asset purchases at known valuations than by traditional pacing models. The strategy suggests a preference for J-curve mitigation and shorter duration exposures relative to primary private-market commitments. Specific general-partner relationships and portfolio holdings are not publicly itemized. The plan operates from Omaha with no disclosed satellite offices. Adjacent entities include the City of Omaha's finance department as administrator and the two member unions as governance participants. Team size and total assets under management are not publicly stated. The pension does not appear to maintain a dedicated website or publish regular investment committee materials online, limiting visibility into deployment pace, consultant relationships, or recent commitment activity. The structural differentiator for COPFRS is its single-strategy focus on secondaries as the dominant alternatives sleeve — an unusual concentration for a municipal pension plan of its likely size. Most peer city plans diversify across primaries, co-investments, real assets, and credit. COPFRS's posture suggests either a deliberate tactical conviction about the secondaries opportunity set or constraints — staffing, governance bandwidth, or board preference — that make a specialized approach more executable than building a multi-manager private-markets program.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Omaha
Corporate office
Omaha, NE, United States
Principals
Stephen Curtiss
Finance Director
John Wells
Trustee, President of the Omaha Police Officers Association
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the City of Omaha Police & Fire Retirement System?
Finance Director Stephen Curtiss is the primary administrative contact for the retirement system. The Board of Trustees includes John Wells, who serves as President of the Omaha Police Officers Association, along with representatives of the Omaha Professional Firefighters Association. The board collectively oversees investment policy, while the City of Omaha acts as plan sponsor.
How is COPFRS invested in private markets?
The plan concentrates its alternatives exposure almost entirely in secondaries — acquiring existing limited-partner interests from investors seeking liquidity. This approach provides more immediate pricing visibility and typically shorter J-curve impact than committing to primary blind-pool funds. The strategy does not publicly segment into specific sub-strategies such as GP-led continuation vehicles or LP portfolio sales.
Does COPFRS make direct investments or only fund commitments?
COPFRS's secondaries-focused strategy involves purchasing fund interests on the secondary market rather than making direct company investments or primary fund commitments. The plan has not publicly disclosed any direct co-investment program or separate direct-deal allocation. Its exposure to private equity comes through secondary transactions that give it access to mature, partially drawn-down fund portfolios.
Where does COPFRS funding come from?
The retirement system is funded through contributions from the City of Omaha as the plan sponsor, with additional employee contributions from active-duty police officers and firefighters. The Omaha Police Officers Association and the Omaha Professional Firefighters Association are the labor unions representing the two beneficiary groups that participate in the defined-benefit plan.
Is there a separate investment office or consultant for COPFRS?
No dedicated investment office or external investment consultant is publicly identified for COPFRS. The plan's administrative functions appear to sit within the City of Omaha's finance department under Stephen Curtiss. The absence of a standalone investment team or publicly disclosed consultant arrangement limits external visibility into sourcing, underwriting, and portfolio-construction decisions.
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