Illinois State Universities Retirement System, Champaign, hired Meketa Investment Group as its first private credit consultant.
The $19.5 billion pension fund's board approved the hiring at its Sept. 11 meeting, according to a Sept. 16 news release.
SURS issued an RFP in June as a result of investment staff's intention to add a private credit allocation target within its stabilized growth portfolio of 5% to 7% of total assets, according to the RFP.
Funding for the new target will come from roughly halving the current 14% allocation to the credit fixed-income sub-asset class in the stabilized growth portfolio.
The overall stabilized growth portfolio has a target allocation of 25% of total plan assets. As of June 30, the actual allocation was 24.3%.
Beth A. Spencer, SURS spokeswoman, said in an email that finalist information will not be disclosed until the contract negotiations are complete.
Separately, the pension fund committed $60 million to Homestead Capital USA Farmland Fund III, its first commitment to a farmland fund. The news release said the commitment will be allocated to the diversified real assets asset class.
