The New Jersey Division of Investment committed up to $1.175 billion for the $79.2 billion New Jersey Pension Fund, Trenton, said Christopher Santarelli, a spokesman for the state Treasury Department.
The division will make up to $900 million in commitments to existing separate accounts and two new commingled funds managed by Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, showed documents submitted Wednesday by the division at a meeting of the State Investment Council, which formulates policies governing pension fund investments.
The transactions include additional commitments of $300 million to OZSC II; $200 million to OZNJ Private Opportunities; $100 million to OZNJ Real Estate Opportunities; and $100 million to OZNJ Real Asset Opportunities. The division made commitments between 2010 and 2012 of up to an aggregate of $1.1 billion to the four funds, which invest “in U.S. and European structured and corporate public debt securities, as well as private debt, real estate and real asset opportunities,” the document said.
Also, the division reported Wednesday it will make commitments to a pair of new commingled funds — $100 million to OZ Energy Partners and $100 million to Och-Ziff Real Estate Credit Fund.
OZ Energy Partners will focus on “opportunistic middle-market energy investment in North America,” such as oil and natural gas industries. The other fund will concentrate on North America real estate credit investments, primarily in the U.S.
The division also announced a $150 million private equity commitment to RRJ Capital Master Fund III, which “will invest globally, with an emphasis in China and Southeast Asia,” according to agenda materials.
Also, the New Jersey Pension Fund committed up to $125 million to TPG Real Estate Partners II, which focuses on investments “through corporate carve-outs or spinoffs, public-to-private transactions, private placements and controlling stakes in private operators.” As a result, the division plans to reduce its commitment to TPG/NJ RE Partnership, a real estate separate account, by the same amount, a division document said. The division originally committed $350 million to TPG/NJ in February 2013.
Separately, the division said it is seeking to redeem its full interest in BlueCrest Capital International Ltd., managed by BlueCrest Capital Management for June 30, because it “underperformed expectations.”
The net asset value was about $284 million as of March 31 for the discretionary global macro strategy hedge fund. The division made commitments totaling $300 million in 2012 and 2014. A representative for BlueCrest could not be reached for comment.
The division also is seeking to redeem its full $148.6 million interest in Regiment Capital Fund for July 1. The division made a $150 million commitment in December 2011.
