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New York Common Retirement Fund Invests Over $2.7 Billion in March

Pension giant commits nearly $1.2 billion in credit investments and $1 billion in private equity funds.
By Michael Katz



The New York Common Retirement Fund committed more than $2.7 billion in investments in March, including nearly $1.2 billion earmarked for its credit portfolio, and another $1 billion that will be allotted to five private equity funds. [Source]

It was the second month in a row that the $279.7 billion pension fund committed more than $1 billion in investments within its credit portfolio. Of that amount, the fund said it will invest $500 million in Apollo Credit Funds that have been approved by the pension fund’s staff, with an additional $200 million dedicated to manager discretion side-car co-investments.

The fund is also investing $450 million in the Silver Rock Empire Fund from Silver Rock Capital Partners, which is a closed-end fund that will invest mainly in privately negotiated loan packages to middle-market companies. One-third of the commitment has been designated for co-investment opportunities.  

Through its private equity portfolio, the pension fund has earmarked $600 million to three Thoma Bravo funds that invest in cybersecurity and software. The Thoma Bravo Fund XV, which will target North America-based application, cybersecurity, and infrastructure software businesses, received a $400 million commitment. And $100 million went each to the Thoma Bravo Discover Fund IV and the Thoma Bravo Growth Fund. The former will target middle-market investments in North America-based application, cybersecurity, and infrastructure software businesses, while the latter will pursue late-stage growth investments in the software sector.

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The pension fund also earmarked $400 million to two private equity funds managed by Leonard Green & Partners. The Green Equity Investors IX, which will target service-oriented franchise businesses in the health care, consumer, business services, and industrials sectors, received a $350 million commitment. And the remaining $50 million will go to the Jade Equity Investors II fund, which will invest in companies with leading market franchises, specializing in the North American business and consumer sectors.

Under its real estate portfolio, the pension fund will invest $300 million in GID Investment Advisors’ GID Mainstay Fund, which is an open-end fund that will acquire and develop multifamily assets in the US. It will also invest $200 million in Asana Partners Fund III, a closed-end real estate fund managed by Asana Partners that will focus on investments in neighborhood centers and mixed-use properties in urban and near-urban neighborhoods in the U.S.

Under its opportunistic absolute return strategies, the pension fund committed $50 million to the Frazier Life Sciences Public Overage Fund, which is a closed-end fund managed by Frazier Life Sciences Management that invests in public and crossover/mezzanine securities of biotech and life sciences companies.The pension fund also committed another $50 million to its emerging manager program, which invests in newer, smaller, and diverse investment management firms.

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Home > Uber Pledges to Provide Sharia-Compliant Pensions in the UK
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Uber Pledges to Provide Sharia-Compliant Pensions in the UK

However, union says ride-hailing firm has yet to tell its majority Muslim drivers.
By Michael Katz



Ride-hailing app operator Uber has said it is working with U.K. workplace pension provider NOW: Pensions to create a Sharia-compliant pension fund for its drivers.

Sharia-compliant investments are similar to sustainable or environmental, social, and governance investments, and prohibit pension funds from investing in companies involved in activities that break the tenets of Islam, which include the production and sale of alcohol, tobacco, armaments, and pork, as well as gambling operations and certain financial services.

“The vast majority of drivers participate in our current pension scheme, and we are working with our pension partner, NOW: Pensions, as they create a Sharia-compliant fund which will be available to drivers soon,” an Uber spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The company did not provide a timetable for when the option would be available. 

The move comes amid a threat of legal action by the U.K.’s App Drivers and Couriers Union against Uber for not providing a Sharia-compliant pension option for its drivers.  Lawyers for the ADCU say they had been stonewalled after writing to Uber to demand they make a Sharia-compliant pension provision for its drivers — up to 75% of whom it estimates are Muslim. [Source]

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Despite the pledge by Uber, ADCU President Yaseen Aslam says the company still hasn’t informed its drivers, and questions why Uber hired a pension provider in the first place that didn’t have Sharia-compliant pensions.  In September, Uber announced that it would auto-enroll all eligible drivers into a pension plan to which it contributes 3% of earnings. [Source]

“Uber has 75% of a workforce who are Muslim, so they should have looked into this when they chose their pension providers,” Aslam says. “If there were no Sharia-compliant pension options available then that is a different story, but it was Uber who chose a pension provider who does not offer a Sharia pension.”

Aslam also says that Uber only agreed to provide a pension for its drivers after a six-year court battle that went all the way to the U.K.’s Supreme Court. And, he says, because a pension that is not Sharia compliant is unsuitable for its majority Muslim workforce, “it indirectly encourages them to opt out,” meaning that “if and when Uber does start offering the Sharia-compliant pension, many drivers have already opted out.”

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