New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, made a total of up to $4.8 billion in investments or commitments in August and September, said transaction reports from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the sole trustee of the $182.5 billion pension fund.
The pension fund allocated and additional $2 billion to the BlackRock MSCI Europe Currency Hedged Equity Index Fund, raising the total allocation to $4 billion. The allocation was funded from U.S. equity index funds, the website said.
The pension fund committed $800 million — four tranches of $200 million each — to the NYSCRF NB Co-Investment Fund, managed by Neuberger Berman. “The fund’s objective is to opportunistically co-invest primarily alongside (the pension fund’s) private equity managers,” the website said. Neuberger Berman is a new relationship.
It also committed $500 million to Blackstone Property Partners, an open-end core-plus real estate fund managed by Blackstone Group. The commitment will be funded from short-term cash.
Commitments of $400 million each were made to Apollo Natural Resources II, which focuses on “asset acquisition/buildup strategies, corporate carve-outs and distressed investment predominantly in North America,” and is managed Apollo Global Management, and RRJ Capital Master Fund III, which will concentrate on investments in financial services, energy, environmental, food and agricultural businesses primarily in China and Southeast Asia.
Also in real estate, the pension fund committed $350 million to Ares European Property Enhancement Partners II, a pan-European fund, plus up to another $100 million of co-investment authority at the pension fund’s discretion. It is managed Ares Management.
Two commitments were made to Clearlake Capital Group — $87 million for Clearlake Capital Partners IV and $50 million for Clearlake Opportunities Partners. The former is a private equity fund that “targets North American companies that are undergoing complex financial, operational or structural changes,” the website said. The latter is an opportunistic alternatives commitment with the same strategy.
Finally, the pension fund committed €100 million ($110 million), to Niam Nordic VI, an opportunistic real estate fund. The fund focuses on acquiring commercial real estate in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. This is a new relationship for the pension fund.
