Lisa Hagerman is a doctoral candidate in Economic Geography where she is researching U.S. public sector pension funds and urban revitalization. Public sector pension funds are a major institutional investor and source of growth capital in inner city development. The current level of urban revitalization projects undertaken by these funds has the potential of increasing by approximately one billion dollars over the next few years. This increased level of investment can be realized by enlightening public sector pension fund officials, their money managers, and consultants on successful urban economic development projects. Possible strategies for achieving the above objectives include the building of a network and improving the flow of communication among those pension fund officers with decision-making capabilities. The aim of the research is to ultimately promote urban revitalization by increasing capital flows to emerging domestic markets.
The research will reflect the current capital gap in inner cities and demonstrate that these underserved markets present an opportunity for pension fund investments to achieve measurable economic returns. To understand why public pension funds would engage in such alternative investments the research examines the investment strategy process participated in by fund officials, money managers, and consultants. After setting the research in this theoretical context, the work engages in two case studies documenting best practices in the field. The findings will then be used to promote a proven investment strategy aimed at expanding the number of urban revitalization projects undertaken by public pension funds. Details on the project and research to date can be found online at: http://urban.ouce.ox.ac.uk. U.S. Public Sector Pension Funds and Urban Revitalization is a research project supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.
