articles

July 2025 Public Pension Brief – System-by-System Analysis

July 2025 Public Pension Brief – System-by-System Analysis

New York State Common Retirement Fund

Total Deployed: $1.1B+ across private equity and credit strategies
Key Commitments:

Thoma Bravo Fund XVI: $300M
GenNx360 Capital Partners IV: $150M
WCP NewCold (Real Estate): $200M
Additional private credit allocations: $450M+

Connecticut Retirement Plans

Total Deployed: $1.2B across diversified private markets
Key Commitments:

Crescent Private Credit: $300M
HarbourVest Infrastructure: $250M
Palistar Digital Infrastructure: $250M
Reverence Capital PE Opportunities IV: $200M
Additional private markets allocations: $200M

Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Total Deployed: $900M+ focused on real estate and growth equity
Key Commitments:

Blue Owl Real Estate Fund VII: $250M
MSD Hospitality Partners: $200M
Growth equity and additional real estate: $450M+

Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (PERS)

Total Deployed: $305M in alternative investments
Key Commitments:

Timberland allocation: $210M
IFM Global Infrastructure: $95M

Texas County & District, Delaware PERS, and others committed to:

Multiple Systems – Venture Capital Activity

Khosla Ventures IX: Multiple commitments
DCVC VII: Multiple commitments
CRV XX: Multiple commitments
StepStone VC funds: Various allocations

Additional Private Credit Deployments

Various public pension fund systems allocated to structured debt strategies:

Atlantic Park Strategic Capital III: Undisclosed amounts
Hayfin Healthcare Opportunities Fund II: $150M
HPS Strategic Investment Partners VI: $100M

Strategic Portfolio Reviews

San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System: Active asset allocation review targeting increased private credit, PE, and infrastructure exposure
San Antonio Fire & Police: Portfolio restructuring emphasizing alternatives while reducing public equity weights
Arkansas PERS: Targeting new secondaries and core infrastructure funds

Leadership & Organizational Changes

CalPERS: Appointed new Managing Director of Private Debt
Oregon PERS: Named new Director of Private Markets
Multiple Systems: Ongoing RFPs for private markets advisory and international equity mandates

Key Market Themes

Private credit dominance: Largest single allocation category with $550M+ deployed
Infrastructure momentum: $595M+ committed across digital, traditional, and global infrastructure strategies
Real estate specialization: $450M+ in targeted property strategies including hospitality and cold storage
VC market re-engagement: Renewed appetite for established venture platforms after recent market correction

All in all, July 2025 demonstrated coordinated movement among major public pensions toward income-generating alternatives, with particular emphasis on private credit and infrastructure as systems seek yield and inflation protection while maintaining selective growth exposure through proven investment platforms.

Ora, Octum’s AI research assistant, pointing to her message

Ora says

Ask me anything about any investor, fund, or entity. I reason over analyst-verified data and show you my work. Your first month is on us.

First month free, then $19/month. About 3 minutes to join.

Eight Arms Deep

Research from the Octum team: capital raising, allocator behaviour and the prompts our members run on Ora.