June 26, 2026

Dakota Insights Podcast: Episode 30 — U.S. Public Pension Plans A to Z

2:18

U.S. Public Pension Plans A to Z

Hosted by Chris Leroy, Director of Investment Research and Alex DeMarco, Investment Research Analyst

Executive Summary:

The U.S. public pension market manages $9 trillion across 800 plans — but 24 of those plans control nearly 60% of all assets. In Episode 30 of the Dakota Insights Podcast, Chris Leroy and Alex DeMarco break down Dakota's new definitive report on U.S. public pensions, covering how these plans are structured, how they actually deploy capital into private markets, which consultants control access at each plan size tier, and what the performance data actually says about the case for alternatives. The episode closes with a practical briefing on CIO turnover — seven notable moves in 2026 alone — and why relationships built only at the CIO level will reset every few years.

Show Notes

Products Discussed in This Episode

Dakota Marketplace

The complete allocator intelligence platform covering U.S. public pension plans, including consultant relationships by plan, CIO and investment team contacts, commitment activity, and real-time job change alerts. Every plan discussed in this episode is tracked in Dakota Marketplace.

↓ Download the Platform Guide

Dakota Pension Plans

800+ U.S. public pension plans, $9 trillion in AUM, consultant relationships, CIO contacts, and private markets commitment data. The primary dataset behind the report discussed in this episode.

↓ Download the U.S. Public Pension Plans A to Z Report

Resources & Documents Mentioned

U.S. Public Pension Plans A to Z: The Definitive Dakota Report

Dakota's comprehensive analysis of the U.S. public pension system. Covers 800 plans and $9 trillion in AUM across allocator behavior, private markets adoption, governance structures, consultant dynamics, performance data, and the CIO landscape. Download the Report →

Post Call Notes — Episode 30

Full notes from this episode including key data points, charts, and takeaways. Download →