New York State Common slates $725 million for 4 managers

New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, made five commitments totaling $725 million in November, according to information posted on the website of Thomas DiNapoli, state comptroller and sole trustee of the $201.3 billion pension fund. In a private equity transaction, the pension fund made a $400 million commitment to the Hamilton Lane/NYSCRF Israel Investment Fund in a pair of $200 million tranches.

In the first tranche, the pension fund made a $100 commitment for investments in funds and another $100 million for co-investment opportunities, the website said. The second tranches will be "activated at a later date," the website said. The Hamilton Lane fund "will invest in both established and emerging managers in Israel, focusing on investments primarily in the life sciences and technology sectors," the website said.

The pension fund has committed $2.1 billion to various Hamilton Lane investment vehicles since 1998, Matthew Sweeney, a spokesman for Mr. DiNapoli, wrote in an email.

The pension fund also made four real estate commitments. It committed $200 million to Landmark Real Estate Partners VIII-A, a secondaries fund managed by Landmark Partners, and a total of $100 million to two funds managed by Avanath Capital Management. It committed $50 million to Avanath Affordable Housing III and $50 million to Avanath III NY Co-Investment Fund, described by the website as a co-investment real estate fund. Avanath is a new relationship for the pension fund. The pension fund also committed $25 million to BIG Real Estate Fund I, "a closed-end commingled investment fund sponsored by Basis Investment Group focused on originating, co-originating, or acquiring debt and structured equity investments located throughout the United States," the website said. This is a new relationship for the pension fund.

New York State Common had 7.8% allocated to private equity and 6.6% to real estate as of Sept. 30, according to Pensions & Investments data.