San Francisco Pension Invests Over $400M in Alts Portfolio
The $37 billion San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS) has recently allocated funds to venture capital, real estate, credit, and hedge funds, further expanding its focus on alternative investments.
Per a report from CIO Alison Romano, real assets saw widespread gains in January, with listed infrastructure and real estate posting moderate increases. Commodities performed strongly, achieving a 4% rise for the month. The report highlighted that, over the prior 12 months, gold had surged by more than 37%, while Bitcoin had soared 141% as of that time.
In late December, SFERS committed $50 million to Sculptor Real Estate Fund V, bringing its total investment in the Sculptor Capital Management fund to $100 million. Fund V extends the firm’s flagship strategy, focusing on mid-market real estate in secondary and tertiary markets with limited institutional competition. The New Mexico State Investment Council also recently invested, allocating $200 million to the fund in late February.
Within its $10 billion private equity portfolio, SFERS invested $24.4 million in Trinity Ventures 2024 in December. Managed by Trinity Ventures, an early-stage tech-focused venture capital firm, the multi-asset continuation fund closed with $435 million in total commitments.
SFERS officials deployed $270 million across four credit funds, targeting senior debt, triple net lease, and mineral rights investments. The $3 billion credit portfolio, currently at 8.7% of total assets, remains below its 10% long-term allocation goal.
SFERS boosted its commitment to the Ares SFERS Credit Strategies Fund by $60 million. This separately managed account, overseen by Ares Management, is an income-focused/senior debt investment within SFERS’ private credit portfolio.
SFERS rolled over a $50 million commitment from New Mountain Net Lease Partners to New Mountain Net Lease Trust, managed by New Mountain Capital. This investment is categorized as opportunistic/specialty finance within SFERS’ private credit portfolio.
SFERS increased its commitment to the Presidio Loan Fund by $75 million. This separately managed account, managed by HPS Partners, is classified as income-focused/senior debt within the credit portfolio.
SFERS allocated $85 million to OrbiMed Royalty & Credit Opportunities V at the end of January, targeting its real assets lending strategy. This marks the pension fund’s fourth investment with OrbiMed Advisors within its private credit portfolio.
On March 1, officials disclosed that the Qube Fund, a quantitative investment vehicle, received a $100 million allocation from the San Francisco Absolute Return Investors II portfolio, a multi-manager fund overseen by Blackstone.