NYSTRA Pumps $800M Into Alts Programs 

The New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, which oversees $140 billion in assets, reported new allocations to alternatives across a variety of investment programs in the first quarter of 2024. 

In late March, through the $13.5 billion private equity portfolio, the pension system made a $200 million commitment to Sterling Group Partners VI, a fund run by Houston-based The Sterling Group that closed at its $3.5 billion hard cap earlier this year. The fund focuses on corporate carve-outs and family companies in the industrial sector. 

A $200 million allocation was made to Crestline Investors’ Crestline Direct Lending IV through the system’s $2.3 billion private credit program. 

In the $16.2 billion real estate program, the retirement system allocated $300 million to a separate account managed by Prima Capital Advisors completed in January. 

A $100 million commitment was made to the $7.1 billion non-core debt program. The pledge was to GCM Grosvenor’s GCM RE Equity Investment Partners 2024-1. The program focuses on investing with small and developing managers, with a goal of achieving 50% of investments with women and minority-owned partners. 

Returns at the public pension system have remained strong with return projections of roughly 8.75% annualized in 2024 for private equity. Real estate is expected to return 6% this year, while private credit strategies are expected to return 7.4%. 

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