The Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) of Mississippi has made its maiden infrastructure investment by allocating $150m (€128m) each to core funds managed by EQT, Blackstone, Brookfield and JP Morgan.
The $36bn pension fund disclosed in a board meeting document that it has made the commitments to EQT Active Core Infrastructure II, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Super-Core Infrastructure Partners and the JP Morgan Global Transport Income Fund.
The EQT infrastructure fund targets essential digital, energy, utility and transport networks. The newly launched fund seeks 10% net returns and a 4%–5% yield from equity commitments typically over $300m. Geographically, the fund is focused on OECD countries but includes a 20% allowance for non-OECD investments.
The Blackstone fund currently has a net asset value of $42.3bn. The fund, with no exit queue, maintains an entry queue of $2.2bn, with capital expected to be called over the next two to three quarters.
The Brookfield fund has a net asset value of just over $11bn. Its entry queue is $2.1bn, with this capital being called over two to three quarters.
The JP Morgan fund, which holds a net asset value of $5.8bn, specialises in transportation and logistics assets across the aviation, rail and shipping sectors. Established in 2017, the fund currently maintains an entry queue of $603m, which is expected to be cleared within one to two quarters. It has a $40m exit queue.
As previously reported, Mississippi PERS intends to establish an initial infrastructure allocation representing around 2% of its total assets.
Mississippi PERS has a further $150m for future commitment to value-add strategies.
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