The New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) continued its steady march into private markets with $1.2 billion in new commitments across private equity, real estate, and credit strategies in May, according to recently released disclosures. The $273 billion pension system has now committed nearly $5 billion to private strategies since the beginning of the second quarter. 

Private equity was the dominant theme in May, accounting for $900 million of total commitments. The most active relationship was with long-standing manager Thoma Bravo, which received a total of $500 million across three vehicles. The largest allocation—$300 million—went to Thoma Bravo Fund XVI, which closed in early June with over $24 billion in capital and will focus on control investments in North American software companies, particularly in application, infrastructure, and cybersecurity segments.  

Another $100 million was committed to Thoma Bravo Discover Fund V, a lower mid-market strategy that also closed in early June with over $8 billion. A further $100 million was deployed to TB Co-Invest Opportunities (Blue Jay), a co-investment vehicle that will participate alongside both Fund XVI and Discover Fund V. 

In addition to Thoma Bravo, NYSCRF extended its relationship with GenNx360 Capital Partners, allocating $150 million to GenNx360 Capital Partners IV, which targets industrial and business services companies in North America. The state pension also initiated a new relationship with Integrum Capital Partners, investing $150 million in Integrum Capital Partners II, with an additional $50 million allocated to Integrum Catskill Co-Invest II, a sidecar vehicle focused on co-investments in financial and business services.  

Finally, the pension added $50 million to TB Empire Opportunities, a TowerBrook Capital Partners strategy that continues to invest alongside TowerBrook Investors VI. NYSCRF first backed the strategy in 2023. 

In the real estate portfolio, two direct investments were made in mixed-use buildings within New York State, totaling just over $3 million. However, the most significant activity in the asset class came via a $200 million commitment to WCP NewCold Fund N, a sidecar vehicle that will co-invest alongside Westport Capital Partners’ global cold storage fund, NewCold III. NYSCRF previously committed $400 million to NewCold III, which is targeting $2.5 billion in total capital and has also secured investments from other major institutional investors, including state pensions in Florida and New Mexico. 

The pension fund also remained active in private credit. In May, NYSCRF made a $100 million investment in the Pearl Diver Capital Trigger Fund 2024 through the Pearl Diver Empire Fund, a fund-of-one vehicle. The strategy focuses on dislocated and distressed credit, particularly CLO debt and equity tranches, and builds on NYSCRF’s earlier investment in Pearl Diver’s Nautilus Series 2024.