Firms & Funds

Alameda County backs Genstar fund as it works to meet PE allocation

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Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association, private equity, pension fund, California
Vehicles drive on the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridge on Sept. 2, 2013. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
  • Assets under management: $8.1 bln
  • PE target allocation: 9 pct
  • PE actual allocation: 6.2 pct
  • Whom to contact: Betsy Tse, chief investment officer, at allinvestments@acera.org
  • Why this is important: The pension fund is aiming to increase pacing to meet its target allocation.

Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association (ACERA) approved a $33 million commitment to Genstar Capital Partners’ ninth fund at its February meeting.

Genstar Fund IX closed on $7 billion Feb. 25, with $5.5 billion in the main fund and $1.1 billion in overage capacity, the firm said in a press release at the time.

Genstar and affiliates are the largest investor in the pool, having committed more than $400 million, the firm said.

Genstar is a middle market business geared toward financial services, healthcare, software and industrial tech, targeting companies valued between $250 million and $1.25 billion, Buyouts previously reported.

California-based ACERA increased its PE target from 6 percent to 9 percent in September 2017. PE allocation was at 6.2 percent as of June 2018.

Verus Advisory, which advises Alameda, recommended that for Alameda to reach its target allocation of 9 percent, it needs to make more than $400 million in additional PE commitments by 2022, Buyouts reported last year.

As of March 31, 2018, PE market value for Alameda is $460 million.