Maine Public Employees Retirement System, Augusta, approved two new commitments totaling up to $200 million.
The $18.6 billion pension fund's board at its Dec. 9 meeting approved a commitment of up to $100 million to Ares Senior Direct Lending Fund II, a direct lending fund managed by Ares Management, and an investment of up to $100 million in Varadero Master Fund, a credit hedge fund managed by Varadero Capital, said James Bennett, chief investment officer.
MainePERS previously committed up to €100 million ($113 million) to Ares Capital Europe V in 2020. Varadero Capital is a new manager for the pension fund, Mr. Bennett said.
As of Sept. 30, the pension fund's actual allocation to alternative credit was 5.1%; the target is 7.5%.
The commitment and investment are subject to final due diligence, legal review and negotiations.
Separately, MainePERS' board voted at its Dec. 9 meeting to submit a full redemption request to Prima Capital Advisors for its current balance in open-end commercial mortgage-backed securities debt fund Prima Mortgage Investment Trust.
The pension fund originally committed $75 million to the Prima Capital fund in July 2011. As of March 31, the pension fund had $88 million in the account, according to its most recent available private market investments summary.
Mr. Bennett said the redemption was due to the pension fund's decision to focus on real estate equity rather than real estate debt. He noted the pension fund has had a "great experience" with Prima Capital.
As of Sept. 30, the actual allocation to real estate was 8.5%; the target is 10%.
