LP Scorecard: Florida’s bets on Apollo, Carlyle paying off in spades

State Board of Administration of Florida is one of the nation’s largest retirement systems, but it wasn’t until recently that it released detailed reports of its investment data.

What Buyouts found out was that it is also a highly lucrative retirement system. And headlining that prosperity are Apollo Global Management and Carlyle Group.

Apollo and Carlyle represent two of the pension’s largest partners. Between the two firms, Florida’s invested in 12 funds, committed $2 billion, drawn down $1.7 billion and reaped $2.7 billion in profits — about 15.4 percent of the portfolio’s entire distribution pool. That’s a combined 159.5 distribution percentage (cash out divided by cash in).

Thomas H. Lee Partners followed in third place. Its three funds combined for $304.4 million in cash out, or a 140.4 distribution percentage. Rounding out the top five fund families, in a virtual tie, were Platinum Equity and Hellman & Friedman. Platinum’s three funds gave Florida a distribution percentage of 121, while H&F’s four vehicles produced 120.8 percent.

Thoma Bravo had the top-performing individual fund. Thoma Bravo Fund IX more than tripled its investment, boasting a 303.8 distribution percentage.

Another Thoma, Thoma Cressey, came in second. Thoma Cressey Fund VIII put up a distribution percentage of 278.9, edging out the 278.8 distribution percentage of Platinum Equity’s maiden flagship. Platinum Equity Capital Partners LP had the highest IRR among the top five and second-highest of the whole portfolio.

Florida SBA’s private equity portfolio is composed of 213 active funds. Overall, they combine for $25 billion in commitments and about $18.8 billion drawn down. As of December 31, 2015, those active funds returned $17.5 billion in realizations, giving the system a 93.2 distribution percentage.

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