The North Carolina Investment Authority, which manages $149 billion in assets for the North Carolina Retirement Systems, will commit up to $2.1 billion to strategies managed by Barings BDC Inc. as part of an expanded partnership between the state authority and the firm.
As a part of the mandate, the NCIA will commit $1 billion to Barings’ broad real estate debt strategies, specifically loans secured by commercial real estate across North America and Europe.
The NCIA will also commit $800 million to a commercial mortgage-backed-securities strategy from the asset manager, as well as $300 million to Barings’ capital solutions strategy, which originates secured debt for corporate and noncorporate borrowers.
“Our goal is to make the best investments and work with the best partners for our hardworking state employees and retirees,” said North Carolina State Treasurer Brad Briner, the NCIA board chair, in a statement. “For over a decade, Barings has been integral to our overall success and by now broadening the scope of our partnership, we anticipate this will help us keep our pension plan stable and secure.”
The partnership is one of several Barings has launched with institutional investors. In 2025, the Maryland State Pension and Retirement System, under now-retired CIO Andrew Palmer, launched a $250 million real assets program—the Maryland Terrapin Fund—in partnership with Barings.
Barings finalized the close of its global direct lending strategy in May, raising $19 billion in capital commitments following a two-year fundraising period.
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to deepen our collaboration with NCIA’s talented team on a mandate of this scale and complexity,” said Graham Seagraves, Barings’ head of North American institutional and consultant relations, in a statement. “This partnership brings together multiple capabilities to create a solution that advances the Retirement Systems’ long-term objectives amid a dynamic market environment.”
The NCIA allocated more than $5.5 billion between late February 2026 and late May, spread out among nine external managers, according to data from the NCIA board.
The North Carolina Retirement Systems managed $147.4 billion as of May 14 for 875,000 active and retired public employees. Barings managed $502 billion in assets as of June 30 across credit, real assets, capital solutions and emerging markets.
