Fund performance: Menlo, TCV hold top spots in a Washington State portfolio

Funds from Menlo Ventures and Technology Crossover Ventures hold the top spots in a portfolio of venture funds at the Washington State Investment Board.

The portfolio, with vintages of 2003 to 2016, favors large and mid-sized funds with a multi-stage approach to investing.

Almost half of the 11 funds are greater than $1 billion and most of the rest are between $250 million and $400 million in size. More than half do balanced or multi-stage investing, and most of the others focus on later-stage bets.

Overall, the portfolio shows mixed results. Two of the funds stand out with double digit IRRs, according to a recent portfolio report updating returns to December 2016. Another four are in the single digits, and the final five are in the red, including a 2014 fund and two from 2016 that are clearly too young to show meaningful results.

At the top of the portfolio by a mile is Menlo Ventures XI with an IRR of 56.56 percent as of December 2016, the report shows. The 2011 fund has made significant distributions, although it saw its IRR fall over the previous 12 months.

The $400 million fund was an investor in BeyondCore, which Salesforce acquired for $100 million, and Check, which Intuit purchased for $360 million.

In second place is TCV VIII from 2013 with an IRR of 11.49 percent as of December, according to the report. The fund’s IRR improved over the previous 12 months.

The portfolio holds three other funds from Menlo, including the new Special Opportunities Fund and Menlo Ventures X, which had an IRR of 9.71 percent as of December.

Also included are TCV IX, Technology Crossover Ventures’ latest fund, and New Enterprise Associates 12 from 2006, with an IRR of 8.65 percent as of December.

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