Minnesota State Board of Investment, St. Paul, plans to search for at least one non-discretionary private markets consultant, said Mansco Perry III, executive director and chief investment officer.
The selected consultant would be the first for the board's 20% target allocation to private markets, which is part of its 50% to 75% target range in capital-appreciating growth under the strategically oriented asset allocation approved in December.
The consultant would not source managers for the board but would assist in monitoring the program, Mr. Perry said. Internal staff will continue to source managers.
No date has been set to issue an RFP, he said. It will be posted on its website.
Separately, the board in January moved $3 billion in assets to U.S. Treasuries to establish the protection investment portfolio created under the new strategic allocation, Mr. Perry said. Funding came from reducing its U.S. equity portfolio; no managers have been terminated.
Mr. Perry said another $3 billion from reducing the equity and fixed-income allocations will be moved to Treasuries before June 30, the end of the board's current fiscal year. Treasuries will comprise 90% of the protection allocation, which has a target range of 5% to 20% of total assets. Neuberger Berman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and BlackRock manage the Treasury portfolio, Mr. Perry said.
The board oversaw $93.4 billion in state pension and other assets as of Dec. 31, Mr. Perry said.
Separately, at a meeting on Thursday, the board approved committing up to $1.34 billion to a total of eight alternatives funds, subject to successful contract negotiations, according to a posting on the board's website.
The board approved commitments to existing private equity managers of up to $200 million to Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners Fund IX, a developed markets fund, and up to $150 million each to Banc Fund X, which invests in financial firms and is managed by The Banc Funds Co.; Court Square Capital Partners IV, a leveraged buyout fund; Lexington Capital Partners IX, a secondary fund managed by Lexington Partners; and CVI Credit Value Fund IV, a global opportunistic private equity fund managed by CarVal Investors.
The board also approved its first private equity commitment to Bridgepoint Advisers, committing up to €150 million ($186 million) to Bridgepoint Europe VI, a European buyout fund.
Among other new managers for the board, a commitment of up to $200 million was made to TPG's TSSP Adjacent Opportunities Fund, a private credit fund, and up to $150 million to KKR Global Infrastructure III, managed by KKR & Co.