On December 5, 2013 the Retirement Board selected two emerging managers for international equity investment services for the County Employees' and Officers' Annuity and Benefit Fund of Cook County, awarding $50 million to Ariel Investments and $25 million to Lombardia Capital Partners. These mandates will be funded out of the State Street international equity passive account.

The awards represent a new allocation for the Fund in fulfillment of the international equity portion of the 2013 structure implementation process. International equity accounts for 20% of the Fund’s target asset allocation.