Illinois
Hedge funds deliver for Illinois retirees, students, and nonprofits
Across the Prairie State, hedge funds deliver for retirement security, college education, and the important work done by nonprofits and charities through $57.7 billion in investments. Institutional investors – like pensions, university endowments, and nonprofits – use hedge funds to meet financial obligations, diversify their investment portfolios, and manage risk.
Total hedge fund investments:
$57.7 billion
Delivered for pensions:
$32.7 billion
Delivered for colleges:
$2.2 billion
Delivered for nonprofits:
$22.8 billion
Private credit to business:
$59.5 billion
GDP generated:
$90.4 billion
Jobs created:
745,877
Retirement plans
Deliver for pensions:
$32.7 billion
At least
107
retirement plans invest in hedge funds including:Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois
$3.9 billion
456,101 plan participants
National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust
$2 billion
175,000 plan participants
Illinois Firefighters' Pension Investment Fund
$1.42 billion
66,431 plan participants
Colleges & Universities
Deliver for colleges:
$2.2 billion
University of Chicago Endowment
$1.9 billion
Art Institute of Chicago Endowment
$222 million
Southern Illinois University Foundation
$6 million
Foundations & Nonprofits
Deliver for nonprofits:
$22.8 billion
At least
42
foundations and nonprofits invest in hedge funds including:John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
$3.4 billion
Endeavor Health
$894 million
Chicago Community Trust
$302 million
Methodology
Private credit and hedge fund investment data is primarily sourced and licensed from Preqin's alternative asset database as of February 2026 or from publicly available federal datasets. Private credit GDP and job estimates are calculated using the IMPLAN 2025 Model Year for the United States. Sources for additional information displayed are noted where the data appears.
