New York Common Earmarks Nearly $3B in Investments in August

The New York State Common Retirement Fund made close to $3 billion in commitments in August, nearly all of which were earmarked for the pension fund’s public equities, real estate and credit portfolios, according to its latest monthly transaction report.

The $268 billion pension fund committed $1 billion within its public equities portfolio to the BlackRock MSCI Climate Change Index strategy, from the BlackRock Institutional Trust Co. The commitment is the NYSCRF’s latest investment in the fund and, along with previous commitments, brings its total investment in the vehicle to $3 billion.

The NYSCRF committed nearly $800 million in investments within its real estate portfolio, $400 million of which was earmarked for the Carlyle Realty Partners X fund managed by Carlyle Investment Management. The closed-end fund targets opportunistic returns and is the continuation of the Carlyle Realty Partners Fund series.

Another $300 million was committed to the Principal Data Center Growth & Income Fund, managed by Principal Real Estate Investors, which invests in data center assets in the U.S. A further $98.35 million was invested in a 218-unit apartment project in Wayland, Massachusetts, acquired through the Real Estate Separate Account Program, with BlackRock as the adviser. The NYSCRF also acquired a site in Niagara Falls, New York, for more than $1 million that is expected to include a mixed-use building containing 10 residential units and a ground floor commercial space.

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Within its credit portfolio, the pension fund committed $700 million to two separate funds. It invested $400 million in the Domain Capital Advisors’ Domain Excelsior Fund, which invests in entertainment assets that generate predictable cash flow streams and adjacent opportunistic entertainment investments. It also earmarked $300 million for the Warburg Pincus Capital Solutions Founders Fund managed by Warburg Pincus. The commingled vehicle is seeking either highly structured transactions that aim to combine strong downside protection with equity-like upside or transactions underpinned by cash-flowing assets.

The pension fund invested another $350 million within its opportunistic absolute return strategies portfolio, $200 million of which will go to the Empire Co-Invest III fund managed by Insight Venture Management. The fund will invest alongside Insight Partners Opportunities Fund II, mainly in North America and Western Europe. The remaining $150 million was set aside for the Insight Partners Opportunities Fund II.

Finally, under its emerging manager program, which invests in newer, smaller and diverse investment firms, the NYSCRF allotted $10 million to the Matter European Residential Platform, managed by British real estate firm Matter Real Estate. The fund will invest in three European residential platforms alongside the Matter Real Estate Fund II.