The Public Markets team oversees roughly half of the total Trust allocated to global publicly traded stocks, hedge funds and opportunistic investments. 

We invest actively with the world’s most successful investors including internal teams based in Austin, Texas.  Our portfolio is diversified and designed to outperform passive indices by targeting characteristics of public companies that are rewarded over the long term, such as value and quality.  When we partner with external managers, we strive to be industry leaders in improving alignment so that fees we pay are reasonable and linked to success for the beneficiaries.

The External Public Markets team invests with external managers which complement internal TRS capabilities. Our work focuses on identifying world class investors with an attractive opportunity set. We structure highly aligned partnerships that best utilize the competitive advantages of TRS and the external manager. These partnerships range across a broad range of strategies, asset classes and regions. Portfolios include Global Equity, Hedge Funds and Strategic Partnerships. 

Our work involves developing and investing across a collection of boutique strategies implemented by internal teams using predominantly fundamental research. 
Our team is guided by the common goal of generating excess returns representing a diversity of investment styles. We are united by mutual respect and a focus on skill development and accountability. Risk management tools align the team and Trust-level outcomes.

We work to benefit TRS members and retirees through the following functions within Public Markets:

•    Manage internal quantitative equity strategies driven by multi-factor models and an engineering approach to portfolio construction
•    Deliver scalable public equity beta through passive and enhanced index strategies
•    Implement derivative overlays to provide targeted market exposure and ensure optimal alignment of risk-taking and investment conviction
•    Provide timely, high-quality data & analysis to enhance investment decisions across Public Markets

Special Opportunities exists to capture unique and niche investments for the Trust, accessing opportunities across many types of assets including equities, credit, special situations and alternatives. We aim for a portfolio with a high probability of generating positive absolute returns, regardless of market conditions, and conduct a rigorous diligence process for each of our investments. We expect higher returns than the Trust overall and only deploy capital when we believe that likelihood is strong.