OCERS Widens Guardrails; VRS Commits $1.2B

Orange County Employees Retirement System is moving to widen the permissible ranges around its existing asset class targets — retaining current allocations but creating more room to avoid forced selling during market dislocations — as CIO Molly Murphy flagged ongoing illiquidity concerns in private equity at the latest investment committee meeting. No formal vote was taken on the matter, but the committee will reconvene in May.

The Virginia Retirement System disclosed $1.2B in new commitments from late March to early April, including $800M to BlackRock-managed funds, $300M to Quad-C XI in private equity, and $100M to Stonepeak Opportunities Fund II in infrastructure. In more infrastructure news, Dutch pension PKA plans to invest approximately $783M per year with external infrastructure managers outside its own platform, recently committing to StepStone and Partners Group with a focus on emerging market transition infrastructure and value-add strategies. PKA is also planning a search for a European venture capital manager, intending to grow its venture allocation by 50% over three years and shift the bulk of new capital into Europe, including defense-related funds.

The School Employees Retirement System of Ohio is also planning further infrastructure investments after approving a new strategic asset allocation effective July 1 that cuts real estate by six percentage points to 7%, raises infrastructure three points to 10%, and introduces a new 3% gold allocation. The pension also committed €62.5M to Bridgepoint European buyout vehicles.

In GP fundraising, Adams Street Partners closed its sixth co-investment fund at $2.5B, surpassing its $2B target, while New 2ND Capital is inching closer to its $1.5B hard cap for New 2ND Capital Fund IV, its latest GP-led secondaries vehicle, raising close to $950M so far following an $800M first close in December 2025. In private credit, StepStone Group raised $1.58B for StepStone Credit Opportunities Fund II, which focuses on secondary transactions and co-investments across private credit, more than doubling its $750M target, and Euler ILS Partners is targeting $1B for a new sidecar co-investment fund focused on insurance risk tied to data centers, according to CIO Niklaus Hilti.

In sports-linked fundraising, Harbinger Sports Partners — led by billionaire Mark Cuban — marked a $450M initial close of its first fund, targeting $750M with the potential to expand to $1B. Established in 2025, the Atlanta-based firm acquires minority positions in major US sports league franchises. L Catterton is launching CHAMP (Champion Athlete Managing Partner), a $500M consumer-focused fund structured as a joint venture with investor Mark Patricof, with $50M in early commitments from athletes including Kevin Durant, Mike Trout, Patrick Cantlay, Joe Burrow, Logan Webb, and Sophie Cunningham.

And finally, in people on the move, Australia's Future Fund named Richard Brandweiner as CIO following a global search, with Brandweiner set to start July 1 and succeeding Ben Samild, who joined the Abu Dhabi Investment Council as chief strategist last September. Bryan Kim, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, announced plans to depart the firm and launch his own fund focused on artificial intelligence opportunities, and Manna Tree recruited Jessica Schmitt from Waud Capital Partners to lead the firm’s capital formation efforts.

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