Fund Performance: Several Mass PRIM Venture Investments See Decline

The Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board generally has a strong venture portfolio. But several of its top funds saw a pullback in performance last year, according to a recently released portfolio report.

Funds from big-name managers Spark Capital and New Enterprise Associates lost noticeable ground. Also retreating were nicely performing funds from Insight Venture Partners and Summit Partners, according to the report updated to December 2012. Even the rocket ship Union Square Ventures 2004 fund saw its IRR shaved, though at 69.53% one could hardly complain about results.

The funds are among 24 that the money manager holds with vintages of 2003 to 2006. Overall, the portfolio is solid. Seventeen have positive IRRs while six have negative ones. One fund, Trident Capital Fund VI, has an 0% IRR. The split between positive and negative is a bit of an improvement from December 2011.

Over 2012, 13 of the funds improved their IRRs and 11 saw theirs fall. New Enterprise Associates 12 pulled back from a 16.27% IRR in December 2011 to 8.04% at the end of last year. Vintage 2005 Spark Capital had a 10.32% IRR drop to 7.19% over the year.

Insight Venture Partners V had its IRR from the end of 2011, 21.44%, retreat to 18.92% a year later. Union Square Ventures 2004 posted an IRR of 77.41% in December 2011.

Another pullback came from Austin Ventures IX, which saw its IRR fall from 3.95% to 1.91%.

Going in the other direction was El Dorado Ventures VII, which gained ground. Its IRR of -15.15% progressed a bit and the period with a -7.87% IRR. Also improving were funds from Technology Crossover Ventures, Weston Presidio and M/C Partners.

In the accompanying chart, we list the 24 funds with their IRRs from both periods. Mass PRIM releases no other information on its investments.