Key Takeaways
- • The Virginia Retirement System (VRS), with $114bn in assets, recorded a 9.7% gain for fiscal year 2024 across its hedge fund and dynamic strategies exposure, according to a report by Alternatives Watch.
- • VRS recently committed $200m to PineBridge Investments under its $3.9bn dynamic strategies programme, which includes hedge funds.
- • The Texas County and District Retirement System reported a 14% gain in its $2.5bn hedge fund program for the year ending 30 June 2024.
- • Institutional allocators are increasingly placing hedge funds in the more liquid segments of their alternative investment programmes, with PineBridge and Capula Investment Management cited as beneficiaries of renewed commitments.
- • VRS introduced asset allocation leverage equal to 1% of total fund assets earlier in 2024, with potential to scale to 3%.
Summary
US public pension plans with long-standing hedge fund allocations have reported strong returns as of June 2024, amid renewed institutional interest in the asset class, according to a report by Alternatives Watch. The Virginia Retirement System and the Texas County and District Retirement System were highlighted as examples.
VRS, which manages assets totalling $114bn, recently committed $200m to PineBridge Investments under its $3.9bn dynamic strategies programme, which includes hedge funds. The system recorded a 9.7% gain for fiscal year 2024. Earlier this year, VRS also introduced asset allocation leverage amounting to 1% of its total fund, with the potential to scale up to 3%. Other institutional investors are similarly using leverage to diversify further into private markets and away from traditional assets.
The Texas County and District Retirement System, based in Austin, reported a 14% gain in its $2.5bn hedge fund program for the year ending 30 June. The pension fund has not made new hedge fund commitments in recent years, but its past investments include Chatham Asset Management, Putnam Blue Scale, CQS, Senator Global, Lakewood Capital Partners and KLS.
The report also points to renewed commitments from institutional allocators to Capula Investment Management and PineBridge Investments, reflecting a broader trend of hedge funds being incorporated into the more liquid segments of alternative investment programmes.
VRS, which manages assets totalling $114bn, recently committed $200m to PineBridge Investments under its $3.9bn dynamic strategies programme, which includes hedge funds. The system recorded a 9.7% gain for fiscal year 2024. Earlier this year, VRS also introduced asset allocation leverage amounting to 1% of its total fund, with the potential to scale up to 3%. Other institutional investors are similarly using leverage to diversify further into private markets and away from traditional assets.
The Texas County and District Retirement System, based in Austin, reported a 14% gain in its $2.5bn hedge fund program for the year ending 30 June. The pension fund has not made new hedge fund commitments in recent years, but its past investments include Chatham Asset Management, Putnam Blue Scale, CQS, Senator Global, Lakewood Capital Partners and KLS.
The report also points to renewed commitments from institutional allocators to Capula Investment Management and PineBridge Investments, reflecting a broader trend of hedge funds being incorporated into the more liquid segments of alternative investment programmes.
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