The New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, terminated two managers and made a $300 million follow-on commitment to a joint venture with MetLife.
The $186 billion pension fund terminated a Lombardia Capital Partners domestic small-cap equity separate account, with the about $177 million going to cash, said a transaction report for January posted on the website of state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, the sole trustee of the pension fund.
The pension fund also terminated its investment in the Wellington Real Total Return Fund, a mulitasset strategy fund. The transaction report, which didn't identify the amount, allocated the liquidation proceeds to cash. The pension fund initially invested $400 million in the Wellington Management fund in 2014.
Dropping the Wellington fund was “based on a strategic allocation from liquid real asset managers,” Matt Sweeney, a spokesman for Mr. DiNapoli wrote in an email. “There will be no planned search for a replacement manager.”
The Lombardia fund was terminated “due to a strategic reallocation,” he added. “There is no a search for a replacement.”
A Lombardia official did not return a call seeking comment. Sara Sherman, a spokeswoman for Wellington, declined to comment.
The transaction report also announced the pension fund had expanded its relationship in a joint venture with MetLife in MetLife Core Plus Partners. The report said the pension fund had made a $300 million follow-on equity commitment to a joint venture called MCPP II, which it said would “target core-plus and value-add office, multifamily, industrial, retail and mixed-use properties.”
The pension fund holds a 49.9% stake in the joint venture, the transaction report said.
In December 2015, the pension fund committed $455 million to MetLife Core Plus Partners.
