Fund performance: Gains show up in Asian growth funds

Asian growth funds showed improvements through the middle of 2014, if one LP’s portfolio is an indication, with big gains in funds from Emerald Hill Capital Partners and Everstone Capital Partners.

Ten of the 11 active Asian growth funds in the University of Texas Investment Management Company’s portfolio made gains during the February to November time period, according to a recent portfolio report.

Overall, performance is still underwhelming. Northstar Equity Partners II leads the portfolio with an IRR of 10.18 percent, chalking up a nice gain during the six months. But no other fund has a double-digit positive IRR and four of the funds have negative ones, according to the report.

Advances over the period led the portfolio higher. One big gainer was Emerald Hill Capital Partners II Co-Investment A, which moved into second place in the portfolio with an IRR of 9.14 percent, as of November. That is up from -5.59 percent in February, according to UTIMCO portfolio reports.

Another big riser was Everstone Capital Partners II, which ended November with an IRR of 5.97 percent. That is up from -10.98 percent in February.

The UTIMCO funds have vintages of 2006 to 2011, and most are mid-sized with investible assets of less than $830 million, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

The accompanying table lists the 11 funds with their commitments, distributions and IRRs.