NYU Endowment Deepens Private Markets Bet; PNO Media to Boost US PE Allocation

NYU Endowment Deepens Private Markets Bet

PNO Media to Boost US PE Allocation

Michelle Knudsen, CIO of New York University's endowment, said on a recent podcast that she has spent two years rebuilding the roughly $8B portfolio from what she called a "blank sheet of paper," increasing exposure to venture capital, private equity, and trading-oriented hedge fund strategies even as peers pull back from illiquid markets. Knudsen joined NYU in 2024 inheriting a roughly $6.5B portfolio with less than 15% allocated to private assets. She said she is actively managing pacing models against an "aggressive fundraising cycle" she expects will otherwise pull the endowment into overcommitting.

In LP updates, Dutch pension fund PNO Media plans to increase its US private equity allocation to 40% of its PE portfolio, rebalancing away from a Europe-heavy book and running counter to a broader retreat from US exposure among European institutional investors; and the San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement Association committed $75M to the Hines Rialto Credit Partners Fund, a real estate debt vehicle managed by Hines and Rialto Capital that targets $2.5B.

On the GP fundraising side, Craft Ventures filed a Form D for Craft Ventures V, its fifth flagship early-stage fund, without disclosing a target; predecessor vehicles Craft Ventures IV and Craft Ventures Growth II closed at a combined $1.32B in 2023. Separately, Canyon Partners Real Estate held a final close for the Canyon US Real Estate Opportunity Fund at approximately $570M, above its $500M target.

In people news, Martin Noven was appointed CEO of the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System, effective August 24, succeeding Greg Samorajski; Noven previously led the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System and the State Universities Retirement System of Illinois. Elsewhere, Julie Cavanagh recently joined Apollo Real Estate Capital as director, capital markets, from Hilton Capital Management.