The Michigan Retirement Systems (MRS) has spent $120m on two credit managers in its real return and opportunistic portfolio.
MRS added $20m to a co-investment vehicle linked to the SJC Direct Lending III Fund, managed by Czech Asset Management and committed $100m to TGP-Sixth Street Partners’ (TSSP) Opportunities Partners IV fund in the third quarter of this year. The latter commitment had not been funded as of 30 September.
The commitment to the Czech fund upped the total amount Czech manages on behalf of the $73.1bn plan for state employees, school employees, judges, state police and military to $197m.
The new allocation represents a co-investment opportunity with an existing borrower in the Direct Lending Fund III, according to a board memo.
The TSSP Opportunities Partners IV is a commingled fund that will invest in corporate dislocations, special situations and distressed for control opportunities, according to the memo.
MRS earlier this year indicated it planned to focus more on co-investments and special situations.
The pension fund is already invested in the TSSP Adjacent Opportunities Partners fund, also managed by TSSP. As of 30 September the state’s investment in that fund had a market value of $128.6m, with another $180.6m in unfunded commitments.
The new allocations were disclosed in a report for the 11 December State of Michigan Investment Board meeting.
Czech is one of the 10 largest investment managers in MRS’ real return and opportunistic portfolio, which as of 30 September comprised $6.7bn, or 9.1% of the portfolio.
The target allocation to real return and opportunistic is 9%.
Czech also manages $4.1m through its SJC Direct Lending Revolver III fund in MRS’s $4.3bn absolute return portfolio. The target allocation to absolute return is 6% and the actual allocation as of 30 September was 5.9%.
MRS also invests in four other SJC Direct Lending funds through its real return and opportunistic portfolio.
Michigan Retirement Systems adds to Czech, TSSP commitments on HFM InvestHedge.