New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, has become the sixth partner in Capital Constellation, a joint venture of institutional investors that invests in emerging private equity and alternative investment firms.

The $267.8 billion pension fund is the first public plan in the U.S. to enter the joint venture, which was launched in 2018 to help the $82.7 billion sovereign wealth fund Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Juneau, make investments in those firms.

The New York state pension fund has joined Capital Constellation as an “equal partner,” according to a Dec. 17 news release from Capital Constellation. The release did not provide a commitment amount.

When Capital Constellation was launched, the Alaska fund originally committed $200 million alongside RPMI, the manager of the £32 billion ($42.4 billion) Railways Pension Scheme, London, which also committed $200 million, while the $134 billion Public Institution for Social Security of Kuwait committed $300 million.

The 466.9 billion Swedish kroner ($51.5 billion) AP3, Stockholm, and the $592 billion Kuwait Investment Authority entered the joint venture in 2019 with commitments totaling $300 million.

Wafra Group, which is owned by the Public Institution for Social Security of Kuwait, is the investment manager for the joint venture, which plans to invest a total of $1.5 billion in new private equity and alternative investment funds by 2023.

“Constellation provides a global partnership of asset owners who seek access to the economics of private markets firms and the next generation of investment talent. We look forward to this partnership for many years to come,” Andreas Dische, the New York pension fund’s senior investment officer and now a member of Capital Constellation’s strategic committee, said in the release.

Capital Constellation’s investments include a minority stake in Avista Capital Partners, a private equity manager that focuses on various investments related to health care.

Jennifer L. Freeman, spokeswoman for Thomas P. DiNapoli, state comptroller and sole trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, could not be immediately reached for further information.

Source: https://www.pionline.com/pension-funds/new-york-state-common-partners-capital-constellation