VolunteerNow Board President Featured in Dallas Morning News

VolunteerNow Board President Cheryl Alston was featured in the Dallas Morning News, in a column written by Cheryl Hall. Below is an excerpt, and click here to continue reading.

Dallas pension fund leader's goal: diversity that delivers

With rare exception, white men pull the levers in the money management world.

Cheryl Alston, executive director of the Dallas Employees’ Retirement Fund, wants to add more women, people of color and a youthful note to that mix.

The pension fund has set a goal of giving 10 percent of its portfolio to small, diverse investment management companies.

It’s not about diversity for diversity’s sake, says the 49-year-old who’s led the $3.1 billion pension fund for 12 years. It’s a matter of better returns and making sure the fund’s 15,000 municipal workers and retirees get their due.

The Dallas employees fund covers all city employees except firefighters and police, who have their own fund.

Getting $60 million to invest is a drop in the bucket for a big investment house, Alston says. "But it’s meaningful for smaller firms who are growing and providing jobs within this industry. We want to support that."

Click here to continue reading about Cheryl Alston in the Dallas Morning News.