Exclusive: Infra chief departs TRS

Indu Sambandam, the investment manager in charge of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas 's infrastructure strategy, has left the US pension, Infrastructure Investor has learnt.

Having joined in December 2014, Sambandam was until now responsible for all of TRS' infrastructure investment activities including principal transactions and funds commitments, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was a member of the real assets unit, which houses the US pension's infrastructure allocation.

A TRS spokesperson told Infrastructure Investor that Sambandam had stepped down “to pursue other opportunities”, without providing further information on the reason behind her departure. The spokesperson said no final decision has been made regarding her replacement at this time. Sambandam did not respond to a request for comment.

The news follows the departure in January of Vaughn Brock , founder of TRS' UK office, the pension's first outpost overseas. No reason was given for Brock's departure at the time. 

Prior to joining TRS, Sambandam served as senior portfolio manager within the State of Michigan Retirement System's real estate and infrastructure division. Roles she previously assumed include vice president of energy credit management at TD Bank Group, OECD portfolio manager for JP Morgan Asset Management Global Infrastructure Investments Fund and analyst with Moody's global infrastructure finance group. 

TRS has an extensive energy and infrastructure programme, having committed to a total of 28 dedicated vehicles since inception, according to Infrastructure Investor Research & Analytics. 

Fund managers backed by the pension include Brookfield Asset Management , EnCap Flatrock Midstream , First Reserve Corporation , KKR , Morgan Stanley Infrastructure and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners .