Maryland SRPS engages Evercore for potential sale

The US pension is exploring options to sell stakes from its $8.4bn private markets portfolio.

Maryland State Retirement and Pension System is working with advisor Evercore on its potential sale of stakes from its $8.4 billion private markets portfolio, PERE’s sister publication, Secondaries Investor, reported Thursday.

The $51.9 billion US pension had issued a request for information for an advisor to help with a private assets sale in March. The potential sale could include real estate, private equity and private credit funds, according to the RFI.

The pension is in the early stage of deciding on a process and has not identified which assets it may sell, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The RFI shows that Maryland’s private markets portfolio as of September 30 was valued at the following:

  • $5.7 billion in private equity
  • $1.1 billion in private credit
  • $801.1 million in real assets
  • $783.3 million in private real estate

The pension’s largest real estate interest is a $150 million stake in the 2011-vintage Lone Star Real Estate Fund II, according to PERE data. Its most recent commitment to the asset class was a $92.66 million earmark to Lone Star’s fifth fund, a 2017 vintage. Overall, the pension has 20 real estate interests, according to the RFI.

Pension funds were the second most active type of sellers in the first half of this year, accounting for 23.2 percent of volume, according to Setter Capital’s Volume Report H1 2018. North American sellers were the most active regional group, accounting for 61 percent of sales.

Maryland did not return a request for comment, while Evercore declined to comment.