Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, Little Rock, at its Feb. 3 board meeting, approved a total of up to $140 million in commitments to alternative investment funds.
The $22.7 billion pension fund committed up to $100 million to Blackstone Strategic Partners Infrastructure IV, which is focused on exploiting “the growing need for liquidity” in the wake of the surge in private markets investments over the past decade, according to materials presented to the board. The Blackstone Strategic Partners fund series has more than $80 billion invested in private equity, infrastructure and real estate secondary assets on behalf of clients.
Blackstone Strategic Partners Infrastructure IV, with a fundraising target of $4 billion, will look to generate secondary-like returns for core-like risks.
At the same meeting, the pension fund’s board approved a follow-on commitment of $40 million to Franklin Park Corporate Finance Access Fund III, a fund of funds managed by its private equity consultant Franklin Park Associates. In 2024, the pension fund made an initial commitment of $40 million to the fund, which has a fundraising target of $150 million and invests in smaller buyout, growth and turnaround private equity funds.
