Illinois TRS Has $260M For PE, New Consultant –

The Board of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS) announced that it chose a new investment consultant at its meeting held Feb. 16 and 17, in Springfield, Ill. The board also received a report on the fund’s performance for 2005 and made new private equity commitments of $260 million.

The TRS board named Portland, Ore.-based R.V. Kuhns & Associates as TRS’s general investment consultant. R.V. Kuhns will provide the pension system with asset allocation studies, investment manager research, performance reporting and other services. The firm replaces Callan Associates, whose contract expired at the end of December.

The board of trustees also made $260 million in private equity fund commitments:

TRS committed $100 million to Madison Dearborn Partners new buyout fund, Madison Dearborn Capital Partners V. The fund has a target of $5 billion and expects to hold a final close in April with $6.5 billion. The Chicago-based buyout firm raised more than $4 billion for Madison Dearborn Capital Partners IV. Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) and the New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) are also limited partners in the fund.

The board allocated $90 million to the Carlyle Group’s Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy & Power Fund III. The buyout fund has secured around $1.45 billion in commitments so far, according to a regulatory filing. The fund has a reported goal of $2.5 billion and a cap of $3.5 billion.

TRS will invest $50 million in Energy Capital Partners, a private equity fund that invests in buyout deals on the energy market.

The board approved a $20 million investment in Belvedere Capital Partners’ new buyout fund, Belvedere Capital Fund II. The fund is a buyout fund focused on banks, financial institutions and financial services.

The board also received a report on the fund’s performance ending with 2005. Total TRS assets set a new record as they reached $35.4 billion.