By David G.
Barry
The New York
State Common Retirement Fund (CRF) has gone from never previously backing DIF
Capital Partners to investing in the global infrastructure firm’s two
newest funds.
According to information posted by New York State Comptroller Thomas P.
DiNapoli, CRF committed $1 billion in July to managers – 40% of which went
to DIF.
The $246.3
billion pension system agreed to invest €200 million (US$200 million) in both
DIF Infrastructure Fund VII and DIF Core Plus Infrastructure Fund III.
DIF is seeking to raise €4
billion (US$4 billion) for DIF Infrastructure Fund VII, which will
invest in core, long-term contracted infrastructure investments in Public
Private Partnerships (PPPs), utilities, and renewable energy sectors. DIF’s
sixth infrastructure fund closed in 2020 at €3.03 billion (US$3.01 billion) and has to date made 16
investments.
DIF, meanwhile, is seeking to raise €1.5
billion (US$1.5 billion) for Core Plus Infrastructure Fund III, which
will target small and mid-market infrastructure investments in the telecom,
energy and transportation sectors. DIF already has used the fund to make two
investments, including most recently teaming up with Amber Infrastructure Group
to acquire Rail First, an Australian rail freight leasing company.
DIF has €14 billion (US$14
billion) in assets under management across 11 closed-end infrastructure
funds and several co-investment vehicles. It has more than 190 professionals
located in 11 offices in Europe, New York, Toronto, Sydney, Australia, and
Santiago, Chile.
Mark Johnson, DiNapoli’s press secretary, declined to comment on the DIF
commitments, saying that CRF generally does not discuss its reasons for
choosing funds to invest in.
All told, half of its $1 billion went to the real assets fund as CRF also
invested $100 million in a co-investment fund from I Squared Capital –
ISQ III Co-Invest. ISQ III will sit alongside the main fund – ISQ Global
Infrastructure Fund III – in a portfolio of renewable power infrastructure
assets.
Aside from DIF’s funds, CRF also backed one other firm that it had not
previously invested in: 1315 Capital Early Growth L.P. CRF deployed $15
million to the fund, which will provide expansion and growth capital to
commercial-stage healthcare companies in North America.
Also in July, CRF committed $100 million to Siris Partners’ fifth fund,
which will invest in U.S. technology companies; €200 million (US$200 million) to EQT Partners’ tenth fund, which will invest in an array of sectors, primarily in Western Europe;
and $200 million to Noble Investment Group’s fifth fund,
which will invest in upscale select service and extended-stay hotels in the
United States.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, CRF generated a return of 9.51%. During the
first quarter ending June 30, it reported a return of negative 8.24%.
CRF has 44.7% of its assets in publicly traded equities, 22.4% in cash, bonds
and mortgages, 15% in private equity, 12.1% in real estate and real assets ,and
5.8% in credit, absolute return strategies and opportunistic alternatives.