Fund performance: Trinity, NEA, Polaris lead SFERS’ venture portfolio

Broad gains in performance boosted the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System’s portfolio of recent vintage venture funds.

The gains during 2013 were widespread, showing up in half of the LP’s 26 funds with vintages of 2009 to 2014. But they were particularly noticeable at a handful of them, including Trinity Ventures X, Menlo Ventures XI and Institutional Venture Partners XIII, according to a recent portfolio report updating performance to December 2013.

The portfolio favors large and medium sized funds with a balanced, multi-stage and early stage approach to investing. Six funds have been added since the start of 2013, including Battery Ventures X and OrbiMed Private Investments V.

The San Francisco pension manager, which has been debating whether to shift as much as 15 percent of its money into hedge funds, hadn’t invested in a Battery fund since 2000.

At the top of the portfolio is Trinity Ventures X, a 2009 fund with an investment multiple of 2.1x as of December, according to the report. The multiple a year earlier was 1.42x, underscoring its significant gain.

The second best performer is New Enterprise Associates 13, which saw its multiple climb to 1.6x from 1.32x a year earlier.

Menlo Ventures XI, a 2010 balanced stage fund, had a 1.3x multiple as of December, a substantial rise, and Institutional Venture Partners XIII’s performance improved smartly as well. Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund X also moved ahead.

The accompanying table lists the 26 funds with their multiples, distributions and capital commitments.