Irradiant, Crescent Capital Receive $200M from Texas Pension

The Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) has added two funds to its strategic credit and direct lending programs this month, totaling $4.5 billion and $6.9 billion, respectively.

Irradiant Partners saw a $150 million allocation in strategic credit through Irradiant CLO Opportunities Fund, which launched with $219 million in capital, according to SEC registration documents. TCDRS officials have shown interest in strategic credit as seen by their investment in Chorus Capital Credit Fund V earlier this year.

The $48 billion retirement system also allocated $50 million to Crescent (TX) Direct Lending Fund, a strategy centered on lending to the middle market, which Crescent Capital Group has been offering funds since 2005. TCDRS has invested $550 million on the strategy, starting with a $25 million commitment in 2016.

In recent years, TCDRS has become increasingly involved in the direct lending area. Unlike strategic credit, direct lending has the potential to grow to 16% of assets, which now amount to $7.6 billion. In April, the pension system invested $100 million in Comvest Credit Partners VII as part of its direct lending portfolio.

The strategic credit and direct lending programs returned just over 12% for the year through June 30.