Fund performance: Bain Capital Ventures, DFJ top emerging venture portfolio

Funds from Bain Capital Ventures and DFJ top a portfolio of emerging venture funds at the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System.

The portfolio is made up of 2014 vintages with a focus on mid-tier funds, and later-stage and multi-stage investing.

Half of the funds are between $200 million and $750 million in size, and only one is above $1 billion: Insight Venture Partners IX. The portfolio also taps funds of funds.

Nearly 60 percent of the funds invest at the later stage or with a multi-stage approach.

Overall, results are hard to assess for such a young portfolio. However, most are off to a respectable start, according to a public report updated to December 2016. Two funds had investment multiples of 1.3x and another six funds had achieved 1.1x multiples, the report shows. A majority of the funds had advanced in the previous 12 months.

The top funds in the portfolio were Bain Capital Venture Fund 2014 with a 1.3x investment multiple as of December and DFJ Venture XI, also with a 1.3x multiple. Both funds had achieved a modest level of distributions.

The fund was an investor in internet retailer Jet.Com, which Wal-Mart Stores bought last year for about $3 billion, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

Six funds tied for second place with 1.1x multiples, including Canaan X, FirstMark Capital OF I, Sofinnova Venture Partners IX,
Weathergage Capital Investments 2014, Weathergage Venture Capital III and the Insight fund.

All 12 funds in the portfolio are included in the attached spreadsheet with multiples, distributions and commitments.