Bethlehem pension looks to add direct lender to its stable
The City of Bethlehem Aggregated Pension Plan is looking for managers to oversee a middle market private debt allocation, according to a recently launched request for proposals

Points up front: Credit picking follows on from investor picking
Credit picking skills will be important this year amid heightened idiosyncratic risk, so everyone seems to say. But Ares Management, one of the biggest names in direct lending, has demonstrated that asset managers can also be picky with the mandates they take on, when the firm walked away from a private debt mandate with London CIV in January.

EIF backs Italian private debt fund
Finint Investment anticipates €150 million final close for its third Italian private debt fund in June, after receiving the backing of the European Investment Fund

Weak loan collateral will dent private credit returns, says Finnish pension
Valtion Elakerahasto, the state pension fund of Finland, says non-existing or weaker loan collateral has raised concerns about the returns private credit funds will generate in the coming years  

Rhode Island to step up private and 'opportunistic' credit investments
Rhode Island State Investment Commission, which manages the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island, plans to increase its allocation to private credit and what it terms opportunisitic credit, according to investment consultant Cliffwater

Ohio pension makes commitment to private credit
School Employees Retirement System of Ohio is set to introduce a 5% private credit allocation to its portfolio  

US pension looks to put $60 million in private debt as older funds wind down
Boston Retirement System considers committing an additional $60 million to its private debt programme in 2020, following a recommendation by its investment consultant NEPC,  

Calpers backs proposal exempting private debt disclosure
Calpers, the largest US pension fund, is looking to sponsor a proposal exempting California pension funds from disclosing private debt information under the California Public Records Act

Sacramento pension earmarks $150 million for private credit in 2020
The pension fund expects to commit to two direct lending funds and one credit fund it describes as 'opportunistic'

Alaska pension commits $207 million to credit
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC) committed $207 million to credit funds and co-investments over the last quarter of 2019  

Texas pension pumps $300 million into Pimco fund
Texas Municipal Retirement System has earmarked up to $300 million to a credit fund managed by Pimco, according to board documents seen by Creditflux, building on a relationship established through a predecessor fund

US pension earmarks $25 million for secondary direct lending investment
Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS) is set to invest $25 million to a private credit fund through a secondary market transaction  

Italian pension fund seeks greater exposure to private debt
BNL, the pension fund of the investment manager BNP Paribas Italia, has launched a request for proposals (RFP), looking to commit €20 million to private debt closed-end funds.  

New York pension fund puts emphasis on sustainability with $800m credit allocation
The New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF) has put $800 million into credit with a strong sustainability focus, hiring Avenue, Calvert and Nuveen

London pension considers direct lending allocation
The City of Westminster pension fund is considering a 5% allocation to a new mandate which includes direct lending,

Californian pension opens search for consultant
Sacramento County Employees Retirement Scheme has launched a request for proposals from consultants to advise on what it has dubbed its 'alternatives portfolio'

California pension looks to cut liquid credit allocations
Fresno County Employees’ Retirement Association will likely cut back on liquid credit and completely remove hedge fund allocations in 2020.. But the pension is optimistic about core bonds – and may include it as a new asset class

Private credit funds could find better buying opportunities this year, says NEPC
Institutional investors looking to allocate to private credit in 2020 should focus on distressed debt, opportunistic credit and niche lending, according to investment consultant NEPC, with 2019 vintage funds potentially seeing “better buying opportunities” despite valuations being at cyclical highs

Investors preferred real asset debt to corporate private debt in 2019, finds Bfinance
Bfinance stated that, in dollar terms, real asset debt searches conducted by investors outweighed corporate private debt searches in 2019

New York pension allocates $100 million to US direct lending fund
New York State Teachers Common has awarded $100 million to a direct lending fund, as its private debt portfolio delivers 10.7% net IRR 

Louisiana pension earmarks $30 million for US private credit
This isn’t a first time relationship for the $1.8 billion pension fund, who previously granted  $50 million to the manager's previous fund in October 2018

Ares' new Asian credit affiliate wins $400 million from New York pension
New York State Common Retirement Fund has committed $400 million to distressed and special situations investments in the Asia-Pacific region  

Ares wins $750 million for direct lending SMA with another $100 million in the pipeline
Two US based pension schemes have recently backed or looked to commit to direct lending products managed by Ares Management, according to documents seen by Creditflux  

DC pension set to invest in private debt assets
Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), a UK based pension scheme, is set to enable the members of its defined contribution (DC) section to get exposure to private markets assets, including private debt, from February

Texas pension backs ICG credit fund
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) committed $167 million to a fund managed by Intermediate Capital Group in January, according to documents seen by Creditflux.