Texas Muni schedules $975 million to 9 funds

Texas Municipal Retirement System, Austin, committed up to $975 million to nine alternative investment strategies during an board of trustees meeting Friday, confirmed Bill Wallace, spokesman for the $28.6 billion fund, in an email.

The largest single commitment was up to $250 million for a real estate strategic partnership with Transwestern Investment Group.

Transwestern will manage TMRS' investment in core, core-plus, value-added and opportunistic real estate strategies as well as co-investments. Board documents said the new relationship with Transwestern represents the defined benefit plan's first separate account and co-investments within the real estate asset class.

TMRS' real estate investments totaled $2.6 billion as of June 30.

The municipal fund's $2.9 billion real return portfolio will be boosted by up to $575 million in commitments to seven funds.

Global Infrastructure Management was allotted a total of $200 million, with up to $75 million each going to Global Infrastructure Partners Spectrum Fund and Global Infrastructure Partners Capital Solutions Fund, and up to $50 million earmarked for Global Infrastructure Partners Capital Solutions Co-Invest.

InstarAGF Essential Infrastructure II was awarded $100 million in commitments and up to $50 million was set aside for InstarAGF Essential Infrastructure Co-Invest. Both funds are managed by InstarAGF Asset Management.

A commitment of up to $125 million will be invested in NGP Natural Resources XII, which is managed by NGP Capital Management.

A commitment of up to $100 million was designated for investment in Sprott Private Resource Lending II. TMRS committed or invested $80 million in 2017 to the prior fund in the series managed by Sprott Asset Management.

In hedge funds, trustees supported a staff recommendation to invest $150 million in Symmetry International Fund, a relative value hedge fund managed by Symmetry Investments.

The plan's absolute return portfolio totaled $2.8 billion as of June 30.