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State of Delaware Office of Pensions
The State of Delaware Office of Pensions administers the Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System, established in 1970 to serve state employees, judiciary,...
State of Delaware Office of Pensions
The State of Delaware Office of Pensions administers the Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System, established in 1970 to serve state employees, judiciary, and police and firefighters. The system consolidates nine retirement plans into three commingled pension funds, overseen by a board chaired by Suzanne B. Grant and managed day-to-day by Pension Administrator Joanna Adams. Vice Chair Arturo Agra leads the Investment Committee. The pension fund allocates across public equities, fixed income, real assets, and private markets. Real estate commitments include the Lone Star Real Estate Fund VII, Artemis Real Estate Partners Income & Growth Fund II, Sterling Value Add Partners IV, and a separately managed account with Morgan Properties focused on residential assets. The fund also participates in FPA Core Plus Fund VI and holds a legacy real estate interest in the Stuart and Suzanne Grant Stadium in Newark. Investment strategy documents reference balanced, buyout, distressed debt, venture capital — from seed to late stage — mezzanine, and natural resources exposures. The office operates from Dover, Delaware, and maintains professional affiliations with the National Association of State Retirement Administrators and the Council of Institutional Investors. Suzanne Grant's broader civic engagement includes past presidency of the Jewish Federation of Delaware and trusteeship of the I Could Do Great Things Foundation and the Jewish Fund for the Future. Her husband, Stuart M. Grant, co-founded the litigation firm Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. In September 2023, the Board of Pension Trustees approved updated actuarial assumptions reflecting improved funding ratios across the state plans. The Office of Pensions functions as a consolidated state fiduciary, not a family office or hybrid manager. Its structural distinction lies in the breadth of covered employee groups — from judges to public safety officers — under a single investment office, a narrow governance footprint for a plan set this fragmented on the liability side.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1970
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Dover
Corporate office
Dover, DE, United States
Principals
Suzanne B. Grant
Chair of the Board of Pension Trustees
Joanna Adams
Pension Administrator
Arturo Agra
Vice Chair and Investment Committee Chair
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the State of Delaware Office of Pensions?
Investment policy is set by the Board of Pension Trustees, with Arturo Agra serving as Vice Chair and Investment Committee Chair. Day-to-day administration is led by Pension Administrator Joanna Adams. Suzanne B. Grant chairs the full board. The investment committee reviews allocations, manager selection, and performance across all asset classes.
How is the pension system structured across different employee groups?
The Delaware Public Employees' Retirement System encompasses nine separate retirement plans covering distinct groups: general state employees, judiciary, and police and firefighters among them. Assets are pooled into three commingled pension funds for investment purposes, but liability tracking and benefit formulas remain plan-specific. This consolidated-investment, disaggregated-benefit structure is common among mid-sized state systems.
What is the fund's approach to private-market investments?
The fund commits to private equity, venture capital, real estate, distressed debt, and natural resources. Real estate commitments include funds managed by Lone Star, Artemis Real Estate Partners, Sterling Value Add Partners, and FPA, as well as a separately managed account with Morgan Properties. Venture exposure spans seed through late-stage, and the fund also participates in mezzanine and buyout strategies.
What is the relationship between Suzanne Grant's family office interests and the pension board?
Suzanne Grant serves as Chair of the Board of Pension Trustees in a fiduciary capacity, not as a family office principal. Her husband, Stuart M. Grant, co-founded litigation firm Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. Their personal philanthropy operates through the I Could Do Great Things Foundation and the Jewish Fund for the Future, structurally separate from the pension system.
Does the Office of Pensions disclose detailed holdings or operate transparently?
The fund operates through Delaware's public-meeting and open-records framework. Board of Pension Trustees meetings are publicly noticed, and investment committee materials are accessible through the state's open-government portal, open.omb.delaware.gov. Commitments to specific private funds are disclosed in board minutes, though individual public-security holdings are typically reported in aggregate annual financial statements.
What investment stages does the fund target in venture capital?
The strategy documents reference venture capital coverage from seed and start-up through expansion and late-stage, suggesting a broad venture mandate rather than a narrow stage focus. This is consistent with a fund-of-funds or direct-commitment approach where the pension office selects GPs across the venture lifecycle rather than concentrating on a single stage.
How does the Delaware system compare in scale to neighboring state pension funds?
At an Altss-estimated $15.0B, the Delaware plan is smaller than the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System or the New Jersey Division of Investment — each exceeding $70B — and roughly comparable to the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds. Delaware's smaller population base naturally constrains absolute size, but the commingled-fund structure keeps fragmentation manageable for a state of its scale.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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