Key Takeaways
- • The $300 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund committed $1.4 billion of its $2.3 billion in total investment commitments to emerging markets equities during January and February 2026, according to its monthly transaction reports.
- • In January, the fund allocated $700 million to MFS Investment Management's MFS International Growth Equity fund, its first relationship with the manager, and $550 million across credit, including $350 million to Apollo Hybrid Value Fund III.
- • In February, the fund committed $700 million to the RBC Emerging Markets Equity fund in two $350 million tranches, marking its first investment with RBC Global Asset Management.
- • More than $45 million went to the Emerging Manager Program in February, including roughly $17 million to Demopolis Equity Partners Fund I and $15 million each to Cross Rapids Capital Partners I and Palm Peak Capital Fund.
- • The pension also committed $300 million to two Leonard Green & Partners Sage Equity Investors funds, $25 million to Oceans Ventures Fund III, and about $3.2 million to a Buffalo mixed-use building renovation with Community Preservation Corp.
Summary
New York's state employee pension fund continued shifting its equity exposure toward international markets in the first two months of 2026. According to the fund's monthly transaction reports for January and February, the $300 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund committed $1.4 billion of its $2.3 billion in total investment commitments to emerging markets equities over that period, as reported by ai-cio.com.
In January, the fund allocated $700 million to MFS Investment Management's MFS International Growth Equity fund, which invests in the MSCI All Country World Index excluding the U.S. The commitment marks the first time the pension has worked with the manager. In credit, the fund earmarked $550 million, of which $350 million went to Apollo Hybrid Value Fund III, a capital solutions fund managed by Apollo Capital Management that seeks equity-style returns with credit downside protection, and $200 million went to Kennedy Lewis Management's KLIM Delta Excelsior Fund, an opportunistic credit strategy focused on directly originated private, first lien, senior-secured and performing loans. A further $300 million was split equally between two Leonard Green & Partners private equity vehicles, Sage Equity Investors and Sage Equity Investors-A, which target consumer, business services, health care and industrial companies mainly in North America.
In February, the fund committed $700 million within its public equities portfolio in two $350 million tranches to the RBC Emerging Markets Equity fund, managed by RBC Global Asset Management. It is the pension's first investment with the Royal Bank of Canada's asset management arm.
Also in February, more than $45 million was committed through the pension's Emerging Manager Program, which backs newer, smaller and diverse managers. The allocations included close to $17 million to Demopolis Equity Partners Fund I, a North American lower-middle-market, growth-stage technology private equity fund, $15 million to Cross Rapids Capital Partners I, which focuses on overlooked or undervalued companies, and $15 million to Palm Peak Capital Fund, a control-buyout vehicle targeting lower-middle-market industrial and services businesses. Within private equity, the fund earmarked $25 million to Oceans Ventures Fund III, which targets early-stage technology companies primarily in North America. Finally, under real estate, the pension acquired a 17-unit mixed-use building in Buffalo, New York, for almost $3.2 million in a renovation project with the Community Preservation Corp.
In January, the fund allocated $700 million to MFS Investment Management's MFS International Growth Equity fund, which invests in the MSCI All Country World Index excluding the U.S. The commitment marks the first time the pension has worked with the manager. In credit, the fund earmarked $550 million, of which $350 million went to Apollo Hybrid Value Fund III, a capital solutions fund managed by Apollo Capital Management that seeks equity-style returns with credit downside protection, and $200 million went to Kennedy Lewis Management's KLIM Delta Excelsior Fund, an opportunistic credit strategy focused on directly originated private, first lien, senior-secured and performing loans. A further $300 million was split equally between two Leonard Green & Partners private equity vehicles, Sage Equity Investors and Sage Equity Investors-A, which target consumer, business services, health care and industrial companies mainly in North America.
In February, the fund committed $700 million within its public equities portfolio in two $350 million tranches to the RBC Emerging Markets Equity fund, managed by RBC Global Asset Management. It is the pension's first investment with the Royal Bank of Canada's asset management arm.
Also in February, more than $45 million was committed through the pension's Emerging Manager Program, which backs newer, smaller and diverse managers. The allocations included close to $17 million to Demopolis Equity Partners Fund I, a North American lower-middle-market, growth-stage technology private equity fund, $15 million to Cross Rapids Capital Partners I, which focuses on overlooked or undervalued companies, and $15 million to Palm Peak Capital Fund, a control-buyout vehicle targeting lower-middle-market industrial and services businesses. Within private equity, the fund earmarked $25 million to Oceans Ventures Fund III, which targets early-stage technology companies primarily in North America. Finally, under real estate, the pension acquired a 17-unit mixed-use building in Buffalo, New York, for almost $3.2 million in a renovation project with the Community Preservation Corp.
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