Texas County & District allocates $210 million to real estate, private equity

Texas County & District Retirement System's final two commitments to alternative investment strategies in 2018 totaled $210 million, a transaction report from the $30 billion fund showed.

Investment officers of the Austin-based fund committed $125 million to Blackstone Real Estate Partners IX.

Blackstone Group portfolio managers will invest a minimum of 60% of the fund's total capital in the U.S. and Canada. They will add European exposure to the portfolio by investing alongside two other Blackstone funds — Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe V and Blackstone Real Estate Partners Asia II.

The pension fund previously committed or invested $45 million in Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe V as well as in several other Blackstone Group real estate funds.

The latest Blackstone commitment was the pension fund's ninth to real estate strategies in 2018 for a total of $772 million. By comparison, TCDRS committed a total of $374 million to five real estate funds in 2017.

In private equity, TCDRS investment officials committed $85 million to Vista Equity Partners VII, a buyout fund focused on software, data and technology companies in North America.

The Texas fund committed or invested in the two prior funds in the same series run by Vista Equity Partners Management, as well as to other private equity tech funds from the money manager.

With the latest commitment to Vista Equity Partners, TCDRS committed a total of $1.147 billion to 19 private equity and venture capital strategies in 2018 compared to $1.263 billion committed to 25 funds in 2017.