South Carolina Retirement System Commits $1.7B to Private Markets in Q2
The South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS) allocated $1.7 billion across private equity, credit, and real assets during the second quarter, underscoring its commitment to private markets, which now represent more than 30% of the system’s $50 billion portfolio.
Private equity drew the largest share of commitments, totaling $694 million across nine funds. Highlights included a $200 million allocation to General Atlantic Investment Partners 2025 ($125 million to the main fund and $75 million to a co-investment vehicle), maintaining the pension’s exposure to growth equity. European managers also featured prominently: Cinven Strategic Fund 2 received €70 million ($82.7 million), while Hg Capital attracted commitments to both Mercury 5 ($53.2 million) and Genesis 11 ($82.7 million).
Other mandates included $100 million to Great Hill Equity Partners IX, focused on middle-market growth buyouts, $75 million to Greenoaks 6 for late-stage technology investments, $50 million to Plexus Equity Fund II in small-business manufacturing and services, and $50 million to Regal HCP IV, a lower-middle-market healthcare strategy.
The system also leaned heavily into private credit, investing nearly $1 billion across managers. The largest allocations were $350 million each to JCP Congaree Credit Fund and Audax Anderson Private Debt Fund, with provisions to scale up to $500 million each over time. Both strategies target middle-market lending, with JCP structured as an evergreen vehicle and Audax focused on direct private lending. Additional credit exposure came via $100 million to Banner Ridge Secondary Fund VI (plus $33 million in co-investments) and $100 million to TPG AG Credit Solutions Fund III, which pivots between public and private credit markets in North America and Europe.
Real assets remain underweight versus the system’s 12% target allocation, though officials signaled continued interest despite modest performance. In June, SCRS committed $100 million to Carlyle Realty Partners X, part of Carlyle’s long-running opportunistic real estate platform, which closed at $9 billion in August after initially targeting $8 billion. Carlyle’s real estate franchise has generated an aggregate net IRR of 18% since inception in 1998.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, SCRS delivered an overall return of 11.3%, powered by private markets: private equity gained more than 11%, while private debt returned 9.8%. By comparison, real assets returned 2.3%, continuing to lag other alternatives.