Idaho plans to commit $175 mln to $250 mln to PE in 2014

The $14.8 billion retirement system has committed to one private equity fund so far this year, a $50 million re-up to Lindsay Goldberg IV completed in May, according to the report. Its remaining commitments will be distributed across three to five funds, and the report mentions possible commitments to American Securities, TPG Capital, Bridgepoint Capital, Veritas Capital and The Blackstone Group’s energy platform as being “in the pipeline for 2014.”

Spokesman Kelly Cross did not specify which funds the retirement system would consider.

The commitment range presented in the report is consistent with the retirement system’s private equity activity in 2013. Last year, Idaho committed roughly $196 million across five existing managers, according to the Hamilton Lane report:

• $30 million to American Securities Opportunities Fund III
• $40 million to Apollo Investment Fund VIII
• $30 million to KKR North America Fund XI
• $35.6 million to CVC Capital Partners VI
• $40 million to Hamilton Lane Co-Investment Fund III

Idaho’s $1.1 billion private equity portfolio performed very well last year, with distributions outweighing contributions by at least 2.2x on a quarterly basis, according to the report. The portfolio generated a 6.84 percent internal rate of return in the fourth quarter, its strongest return over the previous eight quarters.

Private equity represents 7.3 percent of Idaho’s total fund, according to a July 8 investment report. The retirement system’s investment policy treats private equity as a component of its equities strategy, to which it has a 70 percent target allocation that includes U.S. and global equities along with other alternative investments.