New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, Santa Fe, committed $225 million to alternative investment funds and rehired Lord Abbett for a $100 million smidcap value equity portfolio, said Bob Jacksha, chief investment officer, in an e-mail.
Officials at the $11.1 billion pension fund selected Lord Abbett following an RFP launched in February. The mandate is to actively manage the equity portfolio against the Russell 2500 Value index.
In alternatives, pension fund officials committed $100 million to Oak Hill Advisors’ credit fund OHA Strategic Credit Fund II. It also committed $50 million to Harvest Fund Advisors for a separately managed account of master limited partnerships following an invitation only search launched in January, and $35 million to private equity fund SV Life Sciences Fund VI. All three managers are new relationships for the pension fund.
New Mexico ERB also committed $40 million to Kildare Partners for a distressed real estate fund Kildare European Partners II. The pension fund invested in Kildare Partner’s first fund.
Separately, the pension fund board is forming a compensation committee following a salary benchmarking survey showing New Mexico ERB does not compare favorably with other public pension funds. The pension fund’s staff salaries are below median in the fourth quartile.
