New York State Pension Fund Makes $800 Million Bet on ESG Credit

(Bloomberg) -- The New York State Common Retirement Fund put $800 million in sustainable fixed-income strategies this year, including sustainable private credit and green bonds, a rare big bet on debt in the equity-dominated market for responsible investing.

The $210.5 billion public pension fund said it invested $300 million in Avenue Capital’s new Sustainable Solutions Fund, which is betting on private credit with environmental benefits. It also invested $250 million in the Nuveen Core Impact Bond Strategy and another $250 million in the Calvert Social Investment Fund, which is focusing on green bonds and affordable housing.

The investments are part of New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s plan to commit $20 billion to sustainable investments and climate solutions. To date, the fund has deployed $8.5 billion of that commitment. Core fixed income was the second-best performer in the pension fund’s portfolio for 2019, behind the domestic equities market.

To contact the reporter on this story: Emily Chasan in New York at echasan1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Quinson at tquinson@bloomberg.net, Philip Gray, Daniel Taub

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