Texas Employees Retirement System, Austin, invested $250 million in Marshall Wace TOPS World Equities fund, wrote Mary Jane Wardlow, spokeswoman, in an e-mail.
Marshall Wace TOPS World Equities is a customized directional equity hedge fund, Ms. Wardlow said.
The new allocation is part of the $25.4 billion pension fund's global equity portfolio. As of April 2014, the pension fund had a 52% allocation to global equity and long-term target of 45%.
Separately, the $25.4 billion pension fund invested an additional $20 million to Marshall Wace's European TOPS fund. The pension fund invested $40 million in the fund in March 2013. The hedge fund is part of the pension fund's absolute-return portfolio, which had an actual allocation of 4% in April and a 5% target allocation.