MS
LP profile (LP Ranking ↗)
Maryland State Retirement
Pension fund · Founded 1971 · Baltimore, United States
$69B
assets under management2% to venture · ~$1.4B
182 funds backed
Funds backed
182
Power Law funds backed
14
Direct holdings
0
Background
Who Maryland State Retirement is.
Where the institution came from, whose capital it manages, and how that capital is allocated — from Dealroom's LP research.
Historical Background
- The origins of Maryland's public pension system date back to 1927 with the establishment of the Teachers' Retirement System.
- The Employees' Retirement System was subsequently formed in 1941, followed by the State Police Retirement System in 1949.
- These separate entities were later consolidated to form the modern Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, which now administers benefits for a wide range of public sector employees.
Source of Capital
- The system is funded by contributions from more than 145,000 active members and over 150 participating state and local government employers.
- Investment earnings from the system's portfolio constitute the other primary source of capital used to fund retirement, disability, and survivor benefits.
Major Events
- In 2024, the system established a Climate Advisory Panel, composed of external experts, to review its charter and guide its investment strategy concerning climate-related risks and opportunities.
Allocation Strategy
- The system allocates capital across a diversified portfolio that includes public equity, private equity, rate sensitive assets, real assets, and credit.
- As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the target asset allocation was 28.5% in public equity, 18.5% in private equity, 16.5% in rate sensitive assets, 14.5% in real assets, 10.5% in credit, and smaller allocations to other categories.
- The investment strategy aims to meet a long-term actuarial return target, which was set at 6.80% for fiscal year 2023.
Fund commitments
The funds Maryland State Retirement backs.
Maryland State Retirement is a limited partner in 182 funds. 14 of them place in the Power Law Investor Ranking, and the best-ranked are shown here.
Lightspeed Venture Partners
#7 Power Law
Spark Capital
#51 Power Law
Notable Capital
#61 Power Law
Wellington Management
#80 Power Law
BlackRock
#83 Power Law
IVP
#84 Power Law
TPG
#158 Power Law
Silver Lake Partners
#180 Power Law
Bain Capital
#239 Power Law
Blackstone
#240 Power Law
KKR
#251 Power Law
Durable Capital Partners
#310 Power Law
CDH Investments
#320 Power Law
Allocation
How Maryland State Retirement’s fund book is spread.
The 182 funds Maryland State Retirement backs, by where the manager is headquartered and how many funds that manager has raised.
Where those managers are based
By fund headquarters.
- North America 13373%
- Europe 3318%
- Rest of world 169%
United States 131 · United Kingdom 22 · Hong Kong 4 · Australia 3
How established those managers are
Managers grouped by how many funds they have raised. 54 emerging (three funds or fewer), 75 established — across the 129 of 182 with a fund history on record.
28
1
12
2
14
3
6
4
20
5-6
19
7-9
12
10-14
18
15+
Funds raised by the manager
Emerging · up to 3 funds
Established · 4 or more
How Maryland State Retirement stacks up
Other LPs.
Other pension funds in the Power Law LP ranking, closest to Maryland State Retirement by combined power-law score — North America first, then the nearest worldwide.
🇺🇸
Indiana Public Employees' Defined Benefit Account
$44B AUM
28 VC funds backed
🇺🇸
Boy Scouts of America Master Pension Trust - Boy Scouts of America Retirement Plan For Employees
8 VC funds backed
🇺🇸
Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado
$7.0B AUM
45 VC funds backed
🇺🇸
Indiana State Teachers' Retirement System
$10B AUM
23 VC funds backed
🇺🇸
Citigroup Pension Plan
28 VC funds backed
🇺🇸
New York State Nurses Association Pension Plan
$2.0B AUM
38 VC funds backed
🇺🇸
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Employees' Pension Trust
13 VC funds backed
🇺🇸
Northwestern Memorial Hospital Employees' Pension Plan
12 VC funds backed
Figures on this page are sourced live from the Dealroom next-gen API, joined with Dealroom’s cap-table dataset (estimated holdings) and the Power Law Investor Ranking. News in “Featured in” is drawn from Dealroom’s own coverage — the stories that name this investor, not only those it is the subject of. Market sentiment is omitted until the API exposes it.