New Jersey’s $85 Billion Pension Fund Eyes PE Secondaries With 8% Cash Buffer
Updated
Updated · Top1000funds.com · Jul 30
New Jersey’s $85 Billion Pension Fund Eyes PE Secondaries With 8% Cash Buffer
2 articles · Updated · Top1000funds.com · Jul 30
Summary
New Jersey’s $85 billion pension fund is preparing to selectively buy private-equity secondaries after ending up underweight in PE and unusually liquid.
PE makes up 9% of the portfolio against an 11% long-term target, while cash sits at 8%—about four times target—after a 2022 defensive shift on inflation, higher-for-longer rates and geopolitical risk.
Shoaib Khan said the secondaries effort is still in its early days, with the fund screening for pricing and overlap risk so it does not double up on companies already held in its PE book.
The fund is also keeping a lower-middle-market, venture and growth focus, arguing that ever-larger private-market funds leave smaller deals underserved.
Across alternatives, New Jersey remains below policy targets in private credit, real estate and real assets too, leaving it with dry powder but also pressure to deploy quickly if rates fall sharply.