"With activist investors there is likely to be some overlap because there is only a finite group of companies that managers can pick from," said Damien Park, managing partner at consulting firm Hedge Fund Solution. "But from a risk management perspective this is certainly something to watch carefully."
Hopkins said he usually aims for diversity among his managers but that Trian's ability to get companies to perform better was a selling point during investment discussions.
To be sure, the Arkansas teachers are putting only 5 percent of assets into opportunistic funds which include hedge funds, making them a much smaller player in hedge funds than the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, New Jersey State Investment Council and Maryland State Retirement and Pension System.
Those funds put a higher percentage of their portfolios in alternative investments and oversee significantly more assets.
Still even big name hedge funds like Trian, which already invests for the state of New York and the California State Teachers' Retirement System, and Pershing Square, which manages money for Massachusetts and New Jersey, want more pension fund money. Such assets typically stick around for longer and are seen as a vote of confidence.