Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, Little Rock, at its April 7 board meeting, approved a total of $424 million in commitments to seven private markets managers.
The $23 billion pension fund's two biggest commitments, of up to $100 million apiece, went to two real assets funds: Ares Industrial Real Estate Fund, a $3.1 billion, open-end core-plus real estate fund managed by Ares Management that invests in U.S. industrial distribution centers; and Carlyle Property Investors, a $6.9 billion, open-end U.S. core-plus real estate fund managed by Carlyle Group that invests in assets with the potential to become core properties through minor repositioning.
The board also approved a private equity commitment of up to €40 million ($44 million) to MML Partnership Capital VIII, a fund managed by MML Capital Partners that provides structured capital solutions, including debt and equity, to middle-market companies in Europe and the U.S.
The remaining four allocations are follow-on commitments.
The board approved a follow-on commitment of up to $50 million in AxInfra NA II, an open-end fund managed by Axium Infrastructure that focuses on acquiring and operating core infrastructure assets. ATRS made an initial commitment of $50 million in 2020.
Likewise, the pension fund approved an additional $50 million commitment to KKR Diversified Core Infrastructure Fund, an open-end core infrastructure fund managed by KKR. ATRS made an initial investment of $50 million in 2021, and a follow-on commitment of $25 million in 2022.
On the private equity side, the board approved follow-on commitments of $40 million apiece to funds of funds Franklin Park Venture Capital Fund XV and Franklin Park Venture Capital Opportunity Fund II managed by Franklin Park Associates. ATRS made initial commitments of $40 million each to Franklin Park Venture Capital Fund XV in December 2023 and Franklin Park Venture Capital Opportunity Fund II in June 2024.
