The $181bn New York State Common Retirement Fund is considering investing up to 2 to 3% of assets across all sectors of the portfolio in Africa over the next five years, Matthew Sweeney, Assistant Communications Director at the Office of New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, has said.

“Africa is home to a variety of emerging markets and the diverse investment opportunities there will each be considered on its merits," he told Africa Global Funds.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli is the trustee and manager of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which holds assets in trust for more than one million members, retirees and beneficiaries from State government, most local governments and some public authorities.

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is the third largest pension fund in the United States.

The Fund posted a strong investment performance for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, with a net gain of 13.02%.

Earlier this week, Vicki Fuller, Chief Investment Officer, said the pension scheme has invested approximately $200m in Africa, most of which was committed in the last 12 months to private equity funds Helios Investment Partners and African Capital Alliance.

African Capital Alliance is an independent investment firm focusing on Nigeria and the broader West African region.

ACA is currently investing out of its third fund Capital Alliance Private Equity III (CAPE III), a $400m private equity fund and the Capital Alliance Property Investment Company (CAPIC), a $165m real estate fund.

Helios Investment Partners, a pan-African private investment firm, has recently closed its third Africa-focused fund at $1.1bn hard cap.

Established in 2004, led and managed by a predominantly African team and based in London, Lagos and Nairobi, Helios has completed investments in countries across the African continent, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, South Africa and Morocco.

Speaking at the AVCA’s (African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association) annual conference, Fuller said that the fund is prepared to team up with sovereign-wealth funds and other pension funds to invest in African infrastructure projects.

She said the fund will prioritize local managers with offices in African nations.

“I want to invest in the people who are local, understand the culture, understand on a very granular basis what’s happening,” said Fuller.