Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, Topeka, hired Beach Point Capital Management and Oaktree Capital Management to run about $600 million each in active high-yield fixed-income portfolios, and also made two new alternative fund commitments totaling up to $135 million.
The $25.6 billion pension fund's board approved the actions at its Nov. 17 meeting, spokeswoman Emily Wilson said.
The high-yield hires are primarily being funded by the termination of BlackRock’s $1.1 billion Treasury inflation-protected securities portfolio. Wilson said the change was the result of findings from an asset-liability study earlier this year.
As of June 30, KPERS' actual allocation to yield-driven investments was 5.6%; the target is 6%.
Separately, the board approved commitments of up to $75 million to Oaktree Real Estate Opportunities Fund IX, an opportunistic real estate fund managed by Oaktree Capital Management, and up to $60 million to TPG Growth VI, a buyout and growth equity fund focused on investments in North America and India.
As of June 30, KPERS' actual allocations to real estate and alternatives were 11.6% and 11%, respectively; their respective targets are 13% and 9%.
