Houston Firefighters Commits $305M; CalSTRS Sr. Investment Director to Retire

Houston Firefighters Commits $305M

CalSTRS Sr. Investment Director to Retire

Houston Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund authorized its CIO to commit up to $305M across four private markets vehicles, including $175M to a StepStone-managed specialty credit fund-of-funds and $50M to a StepStone venture secondaries fund, with $40M each earmarked for JFL Equity Investors VII and Blackstone Energy Transition Partners V.

In other LP news, Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System approved $10M in combined commitments to two early-stage venture funds; and Stanislaus County Employees' Retirement Association committed $20M to a real estate debt fund co-sponsored by Hines and Rialto Capital Management targeting Class A office properties. StanCERA also placed three existing managers under enhanced monitoring, citing portfolio manager turnover at one and underperformance concerns at the other two.

On the GP fundraising side, Audax Private Equity filed to raise its eighth flagship buyout fund without disclosing a target; predecessor Audax Private Equity Fund VII closed at its $5.25B hard cap in 2023. Temasek-owned Azalea Investment Management raised more than $1B in combined commitments across three private equity offerings, anchored by the final close of Altrium Private Equity Fund III at $526M; and New York-based Terramont Infrastructure Partners is targeting $750M for its second infrastructure fund, with an initial close of about $375M expected by year-end.

In leadership developments, Geraldine Jimenez, senior investment director of public markets at CalSTRS, announced her retirement at year-end after a nearly 40-year career that included more than 25 years at CalPERS. And Barings named Brian Maute – most recently head of US wealth at DWS Group – to a newly created head of US wealth role overseeing distribution across RIAs, broker-dealers and family offices.