Massachusetts pension places over $600m in alts strategies, taps RE advisors

The $80 billion Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management (PRIM) Board in Boston approved five new fund allocations as officials reported sizable private equity gains. For the year-over-year in the third quarter, the PRIM private equity portfolio rebounded sharply with a gain of 17%, officials reported. Equities too were strong, while bonds and real assets were weaker for the quarter, but all were positive. The five new funds approved for more than $600 million in new investments were: Charlesbank Equity Fund X; Charlesbank Equity Overage Fund X; Waterland Private Equity Fund VIII; Blackstone BioMed Life Science Real Estate Fund; and JEN Partners VII. The Charlesbank Capital Partners’ fund mandates follow in the footsteps of six prior of the firm’s funds that have received PRIM allocations since 2000. A commitment of up to $220 million was made to the Charlesbank Equity Fund X, while a $25 million commitment was approved to the Charlesbank Equity Overage Fund X. According to PRIM, Charlesbank’s funds are managed by a senior team with experience investing in North American large and middle market companies. The funds are in the first or second quartiles in industry peer performance rankings, officials added. The system’s portfolio completion strategies saw a $100 million mandate go to New York-based JEN Partners’ real assets fund. JEN Partners VII provides high-yield short-duration financing to homebuilders in select residential submarkets. PRIM has invested in two prior JEN funds. Within real estate, officials approved an investment of up to $200 million to Blackstone BioMed Life Science Real Estate Fund, which attracted a smaller allocation from the New Mexico State Investment Council in recent weeks as well. The Blackstone fund invests in life science properties in primary life science known as clusters. These ‘clusters’ are attractive to large life science companies because they are often located near a university or highly skilled workforce, according to PRIM’s presentation. More importantly, within real estate trustees selected thirteen firms to provide project investment advisory services as necessary. They are: Aberdeen Asset Management; Bard Consulting; Buckhead Resources; Callan Associates; Chatham Financial Group; Coast and Harbor; Eigen 10 Advisors; Harvest Capital Partners; Hamilton Lane; Legacy Appraisal Services; Meketa Investment Group; RCLCO Fund Advisors; and Real Estate Fiduciary Services. The move is to a project-based model for general real estate investment advisory services. Also approved was the re-engagement with the incumbent timberland real estate advisor, The International Woodland Company.

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