NC Investment Authority Commits $2.1B to Barings; Vermont Eyes $300M+ to Alts

NCIA Commits $2.1B to Barings

Vermont Eyes $300M+ to Alts

The North Carolina Investment Authority committed $2.1B across three Barings strategies, including $1B for real estate debt, $800M for commercial mortgage-backed securities, and $300M for its Capital Solutions strategy. Barings has managed assets for the North Carolina Retirement Systems, now overseen by NCIA, for more than a decade; NCIA's total portfolio is valued at approximately $149B.

Among other allocators, the Vermont Pension Investment Commission is weighing $195M in commitments spanning secondaries, direct lending and credit strategies, and separately recommended inviting Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Igneo Infrastructure Partners to present for potential commitments of up to $50M and €50M, respectively. Elsewhere, the City of Austin Employees' Retirement System is building out a newly created 8% private equity target largely through secondary-market purchases, targeting discounted LP-led stakes in lower- and middle-market companies, with plans to deploy about $100M annually.

On the GP fundraising side, Brookfield reported a first close of approximately $2B for Brookfield Middle East Partners, a new private equity fund targeting Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund serving as strategic anchor investor; and CVC is preparing to launch a fifth vehicle in its European direct lending strategy, following Fund IV's €10.4B close last October.

In leadership developments, Lazard Asset Management named Theodore Enders as head of product, joining from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he served as head of CIO portfolio strategy; the firm also named Chris Bricker, a longtime AllianceBernstein veteran, as head of corporate development. And Jonathan Bock resigned as co-CEO of both Blackstone Secured Lending Fund and Blackstone Private Credit Fund, with Brad Marshall becoming sole CEO of both vehicles.