Research updated September 5, 2026.
Several public pension systems have emerging-manager programs that invest in private funds. But the label does not mean the same thing everywhere: eligibility can depend on firm assets, fund size, fund generation, ownership, institutional experience, or a combination of these.
This list focuses on ten programs with documented private-market mandates. It does not include a public-equity-only program simply because it uses the term emerging manager. The intended reader is a general partner raising a private fund, not a startup seeking direct investment.
Selection and approach status
We reviewed official investment criteria, dated portfolio or program evidence, and available approach instructions. Nine entries have relevant public submission instructions or officially delegated proposal processes. Texas TRS provides a dedicated program-information contact; we label it contact-only because the page does not explicitly invite unsolicited fund proposals.
Entries appear alphabetically, not by performance or probability of receiving a commitment. A consultant's intake may serve multiple clients and does not guarantee that a particular pension will consider the fund. We count a shared pension-investment platform once rather than multiplying its underlying retirement systems.
Compare the programs
| Program | Private-market fit | Approach status | Eligibility issue to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| CalPERS | Private equity, private debt, and real assets | Public proposal system | Fund size and first-through-third institutional vehicle criteria |
| Connecticut CRPTF, Ci3 | Private equity, venture, credit, and real estate | Program and delegated routes | Asset-class process and institutional capability |
| Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund | Private equity, venture, credit, and real assets | Prospective-manager questionnaires | Statutory ownership and manager-size definitions |
| Illinois Teachers' Retirement System | Private capital including buyout, growth, and venture | Emerging-manager submission | Required questionnaire and manager materials |
| Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions | Commingled private-equity funds | Specialized Manager Program | New-manager fund generation and target size |
| Maryland State Retirement and Pension System | Private equity, real estate, private credit, and real assets | Manager opportunities | Terra Maria criteria vary by asset class |
| New Jersey Division of Investment | Private-market emerging managers through delegated programs | Official investment-manager instructions | Relevant delegated program, not a generic procurement response |
| New York City Retirement Systems | Private equity, real estate, and alternative credit | Asset-class submission instructions | Fund generation, size, and institutional operations |
| New York State Common Retirement Fund | Growth equity, small buyout, and opportunistic funds | Official private-equity program | Direct and delegated channels are distinct |
| Teacher Retirement System of Texas | Private equity, real estate, energy, and real assets | Contact-only program page | Firm assets, fund generation, and attributable record |
Program profiles
1. CalPERS
CalPERS' emerging and diverse manager program includes private-market strategies, with separate requirements from its public-markets and brokerage activity. Its private-fund criteria identify fund-size and institutional-vehicle-generation limits. The November 17, 2025 investment committee transcript describes private-equity emerging-manager allocations during the preceding fiscal year, rather than merely announcing an aspiration. Program criteria, Investment committee transcript.
Managers can use the official investment-proposal system. State the target asset class and explain how the fund meets the applicable definition. Registration and submission establish neither qualification nor an available allocation. Proposal submission.
2. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds
The Connecticut Inclusive Investment Initiative, or Ci3, covers emerging and diverse managers across several private-market asset classes. The official program page explains the routes for private equity, venture capital, private credit, and real estate. Its November 2025 update provides dated program evidence. Ci3 program, 2025 initiative update.
A GP should follow the channel for its actual strategy and identify the institution's designated investment partner where applicable. Ci3 does not replace fiduciary underwriting with identity or first-fund status; investment capability and appropriate structure still matter.
3. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
IMRF's published manager information includes private equity, venture capital, private credit, and real assets, with a portfolio update through June 30, 2026. Its statutory emerging-manager definition incorporates ownership and assets under management. A newly launched fund is not automatically eligible. Emerging and minority-manager information.
The prospective-manager page supplies investment questionnaires. Use the appropriate private-market version and substantiate the applicable ownership and manager-size criteria. Do not confuse an investment-manager submission with a broker's certification or service-provider registration. Manager questionnaires.
4. Illinois Teachers' Retirement System
Illinois TRS has an emerging-manager program spanning asset classes. Its private-capital materials identify buyout, growth, venture, and special-situation strategies, with dated portfolio evidence through June 30, 2025. That makes the private-capital lane relevant to GPs without implying every emerging strategy fits the pension's current tactical plan. Private-capital portfolio.
The program's instructions request both a manager questionnaire and supporting materials. Address the applicable asset class, team history, strategy, and fund structure. Do not assume the similarly named Texas retirement system uses the same criteria or intake process. Emerging-manager instructions.
5. Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions
LAFPP's Private Equity Specialized Manager Program targets commingled funds managed by niche and emerging teams. Its current criteria distinguish new manager relationships from re-ups. An August 7, 2025 board package records five emerging-manager private-equity fund commitments approved in the first half of 2025. Program requirements, Board package.
The official program links an investment-manager intake form. Future Standard reviews opportunities, while the board retains commitment authority. Follow that process and the city contracting rules; do not treat individual board members as a shortcut to an allocation.
6. Maryland State Retirement and Pension System
Maryland's Terra Maria program includes private-market strategies, with different eligibility thresholds across private equity, real estate, private credit, and real assets. The FY2025 investment report provides dated evidence of the pension's investment activity. Terra Maria program, FY2025 investment report.
Maryland publishes separate manager-opportunity instructions. A private-equity GP should verify the fund-generation and firm-size conditions for that lane rather than borrowing a threshold from another strategy. Publicly available instructions are a starting point for qualification, not evidence that the pension currently needs a fund like yours. Manager opportunities.
7. New Jersey Division of Investment
New Jersey uses delegated emerging-manager arrangements in private equity and other private markets. An April 24, 2025 memorandum concerns Barings Emerging Manager Program II. We treat that document as evidence of a program under consideration at that meeting, not independent proof that a proposed amount was subsequently closed. Program memorandum.
Start with the Division's current investment-manager instructions to identify the correct channel. The pension platform and its delegated manager are not two independent LP prospects to count twice. Confirm the particular program's fund size, generation, strategy, and geography before outreach. Division of Investment.
8. New York City Retirement Systems
The New York City Comptroller's diverse and emerging manager strategy includes private equity, real estate, and alternative credit. It publishes asset-class-specific criteria and instructions for submitting manager materials. The November 2025 pension-investment report provides dated evidence of program participation. Strategy and submission instructions, Investment report.
A GP should use the relevant staff or consultant route and provide the requested overview, marketing materials, and offering documents. The five retirement systems are represented here as one shared investment platform, not five guaranteed independent pitches. Institutional readiness remains important even for early-generation funds.
9. New York State Common Retirement Fund
New York State's private-equity emerging-manager program covers growth equity, smaller buyout funds, and opportunistic strategies. Its current program reporting is dated through March 31, 2026. Direct relationships and allocations through program partners should be understood separately. Private-equity mandate, Program reporting.
One official program partner, Muller & Monroe, explicitly welcomes prospective private-equity proposals through its fund-submission process. That intake screens for multiple client mandates; it does not guarantee New York State consideration. Use the official pension page to confirm the relationship and the partner page for submission instructions. Partner fund submissions.
10. Teacher Retirement System of Texas
Texas TRS documents private fund commitments within an emerging-manager program that also uses co-investments, fundless sponsors, and other structures. Its current page reports portfolio and graduate evidence through December 31, 2024 and describes preferences concerning manager assets, fund size, and fund generation. Program and criteria.
The same page supplies a dedicated program-information email. Approach status: contact-only. It does not explicitly promise that an unsolicited fund deck will be reviewed. Ask about the appropriate process before sending materials. The February 2026 conference referenced on the page is historical, not a presently open application window.
Decide whether the program is worth pursuing
Build an eligibility checklist before adding an institution to an active fundraising pipeline:
- Separate firm assets from the target size of the fund.
- Verify what counts as an institutional fund generation and whether the record must be attributable to the current team.
- Check ownership-related criteria where applicable; emerging and diverse are not interchangeable.
- Identify whether the first review sits with pension staff or an officially appointed program partner.
- Distinguish a live proposal route, a contact-only channel, and a past conference.
- Keep approvals, commitments, and actual capital deployment as separate facts.
An emerging-manager program is an institutional selection process, not a shortcut around diligence. Existing holdings and program budgets are not commitments available to your fund.
Keep the evidence and next steps together
Use Finta to organize LP eligibility, the official route, manager materials, relationship history, and follow-up commitments in one fundraising workflow. Review LP fundraising follow-up with Finta.
Compare LPs backing emerging fund managers for a cross-category view and university endowments investing in private funds for a different institutional mandate. Our LP prioritization guide explains how to turn eligibility evidence into a focused shortlist.
This article is for investor discovery, not legal or investment advice. It does not imply endorsement, access to pension decision-makers, a guaranteed response, or available capital.