North Dakota State Investment Board, Bismarck, approved target asset allocation changes for the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System's main defined benefit plan and highway patrolmen's plan, with an increase to private equity, investment-grade fixed income and real estate, and reduction to infrastructure and timber, said David Hunter, executive director and chief investment officer of the North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office, in an e-mail. The plans have about $2.4 billion in assets combined.
The new targets are 51% public equity (down from 52%), 18% investment-grade fixed income (up from 17%), 11% real estate (up from 10%), 8% infrastructure and timber (down from 10%), 7% private equity (up from 5%), 5% non-investment-grade fixed income, which remained the same, and nothing in cash (down from 1%).
The changes resulted from an asset-liability study conducted by consultant Callan Associates.
In February, the board also raised the private equity target for the Teacher's Fund for Retirement one percentage point to 6%.
The higher private equity targets are expected to result in increased annual commitments of $100 million to existing private equity fund-of-funds managers BlackRock and Adams Street Partners, showed materials prepared for last week's board meeting. The board has previously committed $25 million and $30 million to BlackRock and Adams Street, respectively.
