Virginia Retirement Commits $1.25B; Court Square Closes $3.8B Fund
Virginia Retirement System disclosed $1.25B in commitments made between February and March, including $750M to Barings Portfolio Finance, $300M to Ares SSG VII, and $100M allocations each to ValueAct Japan Fund and Meadow Energy Ground Leases. The commitments span public equity, credit strategies, and real assets as the pension continues deploying across established relationships and strategies.
Allocator activity extended beyond Virginia. Texas County & District Retirement System committed $450M across private equity and credit, backing Ares Pathfinder Fund III, Carlyle Asset-Backed Income Strategic Partnership, and Spark Capital’s Growth VI and Fund IX. Meanwhile, the Firefighters’ Retirement System of Louisiana approved a $400M pacing plan across private equity, credit, and infrastructure, and Taunton Contributory Retirement System launched a $33M search for core and core-plus real estate managers.
On the GP side, Court Square Capital Partners closed its fifth flagship fund on $3.8B, exceeding its $3B target with support from a mix of public pensions and insurance capital. The firm will continue its control buyout strategy across business services, healthcare, industrials, and technology. AMP, led by former Andreessen Horowitz GP Anjney Midha, has begun raising its second venture fund alongside a new infrastructure credit vehicle targeting $10B.
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The Conditions for a Strong 2026 Are Falling Into Place
Private markets are entering the year with momentum.
Deal activity is stabilizing, fundraising remains resilient, and capital is concentrating in sectors with long-term tailwinds — from healthcare and diagnostics to infrastructure and energy transition.
At the same time, large-scale transactions and take-privates are returning, signaling renewed conviction from both sponsors and strategic buyers.
Dakota’s latest monthly Private Markets Review outlines the key trends shaping the market — and what they suggest for the quarters ahead.
For market participants, the signal is getting clearer.