Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) is committing $200m (€176m) to an infrastructure ‘secondaries’ strategy.
The pension fund is investing in Strategic Partners Real Assets II, a fund that will buy stakes in existing infrastructure vehicles on the secondary market, according to a board meeting document.
Strategic Partners, which did not comment, is seeking to raise $1bn for the fund, meaning Pennsylvania PSERS is likely to have a 20% interest.
The fund will invest primarily in infrastructure funds, but it will also be able to look at other types of real assets, including agriculture, timberland and water sectors.
Strategic Partners will focus on buying commitments valued between $100,000 and $150m.
It will also be able to make select commitments to new infrastructure funds and co-investments in individual infrastructure investments.
The fund is pursuing a global strategy, although it will focus on North America and Western Europe.
It is expected to build exposure to utilities, power generation, renewables, transportation, waste management, shipping, parking and midstream/upstream energy.
Strategic Partners, which specialises in secondary trading in private markets and was sold to Blackstone by Credit Suisse in 2013, also runs real estate secondaries funds.
Pennsylvania PSERS said there is a growing supply of maturing real asset and infrastructure fund interests in the market, as investors endeavour to exit funds in favour of directly held core assets.
The pension fund believes stakes in the funds can be available at significant discounts to net-asset value.
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