New Mexico State Investment Council, Santa Fe, committed up to $75 million to Blackstone Energy Partners II, an energy fund managed by Blackstone Group, said Charles Wollmann, spokesman for the $20.2 billion endowments.
“The fund is oversubscribed, so we are hopeful, but we may not get the full amount,” Mr. Wollmann said.
The council has invested in Blackstone real estate funds in the past.
Separately, the council made an asset allocation change in its $4.8 billion Severance Tax Permanent Fund, increasing the target international equity allocation to 18% from 15%. Domestic equity was reduced to 32% from 35%.
In other news, a measure goes before New Mexico voters on Tuesday that would remove the 15% cap restricting international investment of the $14 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund, which is overseen by the New Mexico State Investment Council. It would also adopt a stricter standard of care for the fund's fiduciaries. The council put a contingent asset allocation in place earlier this summer giving staff the ability to increase international equities in the Land Grant Permanent Fund by three percentage points to 18% and reduce domestic equities by three percentage points to 32%, Mr. Wollmann said.
Mr. Wollmann said council officials have strong bipartisan support for the measure in the state Legislature and from the local media. However, constitutional amendments do not often pass the first time, he added.
