NYS Common total commitments surge past $2.4 bln

New York State Common Retirement Fund in June and July committed more than $1.2 billion to new private equity funds, roughly doubling what it had committed to the asset class so far this year, recently released investment disclosures show.

Like many large institutions, New York’s $192 billion public-pension system has been committing larger amounts to fewer managers, effectively concentrating its PE portfolio in fewer firms.

The recent commitments include $480 million for Apollo Global Management’s newest flagship fund, which at $24.6 billion is the largest traditional buyout fund of all time. The system also allocated $300 million to GSO Capital Solutions III, a Blackstone Group debt fund targeting $6.5 billion.

NYS Common also committed $150 million each to TPG’s new social-impact fund, targeting $2 billion, and Palladium Equity Partners’ fifth mid-market buyout fund, which closed on $1.5 billion in July.

One of the pension’s co-investment programs, managed by Asia Alternatives, received an additional $100 million. Through its emerging-manager program with Muller & Monroe Asset Management, NYS Common committed $22 million to HighBar Partners’ third fund for investments in software companies.

NYS Common’s recent allocations brought its investment pace to more than $2.4 billion through the first seven months.

The pension system held roughly 7.8 percent of its assets in PE as of March 31, 2016, its most recent annual report shows. The fund’s target allocation for the asset class is 10 percent.

Action Item: NYS Common’s investment program: http://www.osc.state.ny.us

New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (left) is sworn in by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman during a ceremony at the capitol in Albany on Jan. 1, 2011. Photo courtesy Reuters/Mike Groll