Former Carlyle exec joins New Jersey council

Robert Grady, who wants ran venture funds for The Carlyle Group, has been appointed as a member of New Jersey’s 13-member pension investment council. The council sets allocations for the fund’s asset classes, including private equity.

Grady was one of three new council members New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie appointed in May. Another new member, Tom Byrne, is involved in alternative investments, running the New Jersey-based Byrne Asset Management.

Robert Grady

Grady had been approached to become the state treasurer, but he declined that role, as he was unwilling to move his family from Wyoming, where he works at private equity firm Cheyenne Capital Fund. Grady joined Carlyle in 2000 as head of venture capital and retired last June. He worked as head of Carlyle Venture Partners I, II and III.

Christie also appointed Jeff Oram to the council. Oram has a background in real estate and works as a director at real estate brokerage Marcus & Millichap. The council is chaired by Orin Kramer, who runs a hedge fund Boston Provident Partners.

While the investment council sets the allocation to various asset classes, the council does not approve commitment recommendations from the staff. That job falls to the pension’s executive director. The acting executive director is Ray Joseph.

The council plays more of an advisory role in investment recommendations, and does have the ability to send staff back to work on potential commitments if council members think more due diligence on particular investments is needed.

New Jersey, which launched its private equity programme in 2005, has pulled back slightly from making new commitments to managers as it battles an overweighted allocation to the asset class. The pension’s actual allocation stands at 5.8 percent, and its target cap is 7 percent.