Numerous pension funds are still struggling to make up investment losses from the financial crisis, but rather than reduce risks in the wake of those declines, many are getting aggressive, the Wall Street Journal reported today. They are loading up on private equity and other nontraditional investments that promise high, steady returns in the face of low interest rates and a volatile stock market. The $114 billion Texas pension fund has hit the trend particularly hard. It now boasts some of the splashiest bets in the industry, having committed about $30 billion to private equity, real estate and other so-called alternatives since early 2008. That makes it the biggest such investor among the 10 largest U.S. public pensions, according to data provider Preqin Ltd. Those funds have an average alternatives allocation of 21 percent.
