Kern County Employees allocates $80 million to alternatives Kern County Employees allocates $80 million to alternatives Print Kern County Employees' Retirement Association, Bakersfield, Calif., approved new investments and commitments totaling up to $80 million, said Daryn Miller, chief investment officer, in an email. The $5.1 billion pension fund's board on Wednesday approved a $50 million investment in Garda Fixed Income Relative Value Opportunity Fund, a relative-value fixed-income hedge fund managed by Garda Capital Partners; and commitments of up to $15 million each to growth equity funds Level Equity Growth Partners V and Level Equity Opportunities Fund 2021, both managed by Level Equity Management. As of March 31, the actual allocations to hedge funds and private equity were 11.8% and 1.3%, respectively; their respective targets are 10% and 5%.