The New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, made two commitments totaling $700 million in November, according to a notice posted on the website of Thomas DiNapoli, the state's comptroller and sole trustee of the $226.4 billion pension fund.
It made a $450 million commitment to Whitehorse Liquidity Partners (Empire), which will invest "alongside and through Whitehorse vehicles using preferred equity securities in private equity portfolios as an alternative to traditional securities," the comptroller's website said. Whitehorse is an existing relationship for the New York pension fund.
The Common Retirement Fund also made a $250 million commitment to Cowen Sustainable Investments I, an opportunistic absolute return strategy, managed by Cowen Investment Management, the investment management division of Cowen Inc.
The comptroller's website described this as a "multiasset class vehicle that will focus on middle-market companies accelerating the transition to a sustainable economy, primarily in North America." The Cowen fund will use equity, credit, real assets and "hybrid investment structures," the website said. Cowen is a new relationship for the New York pension fund.
