Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) has moved a step closer with its plan to invest in infrastructure by hiring DWS as a separate account manager.

Last August, the $56bn (€49.7bn) pension fund created a 3% allocation to infrastructure as it put out a search for fund managers.

In a board meeting document, LACERA said that, after considering nine firms, it had chosen DWS from the three finalists which included Cohen & Steers and BlackRock.

DWS will receive an undisclosed amount out of the 2% allocation LACERA has initially planned for infrastructure.

The remaining 1% or $500m of the allocation is intended to be made by the third quarter of the year.

LACERA will initially invest in liquid securities held through the separate account and intends to add private investments later.

The pension fund expects to place capital into a variety of infrastructure types globally.