LPs

Michigan commits to Leonard Green, Advent, SK funds

Michigan also posted its 2019 fourth-quarter returns and valuations for its March 19 meeting.

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State of Michigan Retirement Systems committed more than $500 million to private equity in the final quarter of 2019, according to documents from its March 19 meeting.

The commitments were:

* $250 million to Green Equity Investors VIII, a $12 billion flagship fund managed by Leonard Green & Partners that closed last year, according to sister title PE Hub;

* $100 million to Jade Equity Investors, a $2.75 billion mid-market fund also managed by Leonard Green and which closed simultaneously with the flagship;

* $60 million to Advent International Latin American Private Equity Fund VII, a $2.2 billion fund managed by Advent International that launched last year, according to Reuters;

* $35 million to FirstMark Capital OF III, a venture capital fund with a $300 million target managed by FirstMark Capital, according to a form D;

* $35 million to FirstMark Capital V, a venture fund with a $400 million target also managed by FirstMark Capital, according to a form D;

* $35 million to SKCP Catalyst Fund I, a $400 million middle-market buyout fund managed by SK Capital Partners that closed last November, according to a press release.

Private equity Q4 performance

As of December 31, private equity and venture made up 17.8 percent of Michigan’s portfolio and was valued at $13.8 billion.

SMRS is made up of four separate retirement funds: Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System, Michigan State Employees’ Retirement System, Michigan State Police Retirement System and Michigan Judges’ Retirement System. As of December 31, those funds were valued at combined $77.7 billion.

Private equity returns for MPSERS, the largest of the four funds Michigan oversees, were 8.8 percent over one year, 14.8 percent over three years, 12.8 percent over five years, 14.1 percent over seven years and 14.7 percent over 10 years.

Last October, a Michigan spokesman told Buyouts that MPSERS made up 77 percent of the total funds’ private equity holdings, but that all the funds had essentially the same allocation to private equity and very similar returns.

Action Item: read Michigan’s March 19 meeting materials here.