Maryland State Retirement & Pension System, Baltimore, disclosed $1.5 billion in commitments or investments from May through August, board documents from its Tuesday meeting show.
In private equity, the $69.6 billion pension fund committed $750 million to 11 managers. The largest commitment — $175 million — went to Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners X, a large-cap buyout fund.
Maryland also committed $125 million to TA XIV a growth equity fund managed by TA Associates; $85 million to Vistria Fund IV, a middle-market buyout fund managed by Vistria Group; $75 million to Bain Capital Life Sciences Fund III, a growth fund; $75 million to Orchid Asia VIII, a private equity fund that makes active minority investments in China managed by the Orchid Asia Group; and $50 million to Blue Wolf Capital Fund V, a buyout fund managed by Blue Wolf Capital Partners.
In addition, the pension fund made several private equity co-investments. The staff declined to provide the names of most of the co-investment funds. The largest such commitment of $120 million went to Hg Capital for future co-investment opportunities across multiple Hg funds. Maryland committed $120 million to Hg Genesis 9, an upper-middle-market buyout fund, in 2020.
Also, a $15 million co-investment went to MBK Partners. In 2019, the pension fund committed $120 million to MBK Partners Fund V, a buyout fund that focuses on stable defensive businesses in northern Asia. A $15 million co-investment went to Audax Group. In 2018, Maryland committed $110 million Audax Private Equity Fund VI, a middle-market buyout fund. A $10 million co-investment went to Jade Equity Investors, a buyout fund managed by Leonard Green & Partners. In 2019, Maryland committed $50 million to the fund. And a $5 million co-investment went to Institutional Venture Partners XVII, following an $85 million commitment to the fund in 2020.
In real estate, $150 million was committed to Heitman Value Partners V, a North American closed-end value-added real estate fund; $100 million to TruAmerica Workforce Housing Fund, a real estate fund managed by TruAmerica Multifamily; and $100 million to Brookfield Strategic Real Estate Partners IV, a global opportunistic real estate fund managed by Brookfield Asset Management.
In absolute return, Maryland invested $150 million in hedge fund Brevan Howard FG Macro Fund, and $40 million in Aristeia Select Opportunities II, a multistrategy hedge fund managed by Aristeia Capital.
In credit/debt, the pension fund committed $100 million to Orion Mineral Royalty Fund I, which invests in royalty and streaming opportunities in industrial and agricultural minerals and is managed by Orion Resource Partners. Also, $75 million was committed to Berkshire Multifamily Debt Fund III, which invests mostly in Freddie Mac's multifamily executions — bundles of apartment loans that Freddie Mac is selling off to investors — and is managed by Berkshire Group. And $11.5 million was committed to CB HS Aggregator II, a fund of one managed by Charlesbank Capital Partners.
As of Aug. 31, the pension fund's asset allocation was 34.2% public equity, 18.3% private equity, 16.2% rate sensitive, 11.2% real assets, 9.1% credit/debt, 8.2% absolute return, 1% multiasset and the rest cash.
