News and Analysis

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) announced last week that it again picked Santa Monica, Calif.-based Wilshire Associates as the primary pension consultant to its $182 billion fund. This didn’t come as any surprise to the firm. It has served CalPERS in that capacity for the past 22 years. Wilshire is credited with overseeing […]

It’s lights out for the private equity business at DPL (NASDAQ: DPL) the parent company of Dayton Power & Light Co. The Dayton, Ohio-based energy giant announced earlier this month that it sold its private equity portfolio to AlpInvest Partners and Lexington Partners for approximately $850 million. The portfolio involved contains about $1.2 billion in […]

Mark Anson, chief investment officer for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), warned last week that the U.S. private equity market could be building toward a bubble. The comments were made during a conference in Geneva, with Anson pointing to a confluence of LBO fund capital overhang, rising interest rates and increased competition from […]

At a time when there is a glut of capital trying to find a home in venture funds, the state of New Jersey is inching closer to adding $9 billion to the alternative asset class. The Garden State’s Investment Council on Jan. 20 approved rules and procedures to establish the Alternative Investment Program. The AIP […]

21996; HarbourVest Partners can’t get enough of European cuisine, particularly cheap venture dishes. It recently bought the assets of the West LB Growth Fund from the German investment bank West LB. London’s Nova Capital Management will manage the assets. The firms declined to disclose the price of the deal, but the 15-company portfolio has $75 […]

Most limited partners say they target new and emerging funds, but few actually have a plan in place to find these new managers. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, has put together such a plan, tapping fund-of-funds firm INVESCO Private Capital to coordinate the initiative. For the larger pension plans, investing in these next generation […]

Shasta Ventures has yet to announce any investments, but that hasn’t stopped limited partners from lining up for its inaugural fund. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm currently is in allocation mode, and expects to soon hold a final close in excess of its $175 million target capitalization. If oversubscription for a first-time fund manager doesn’t […]

The California State Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) last week became the nation’s first public pension system to disclose management fees paid to private equity and venture capital partnerships, following the settlement of a lawsuit brought in September by the California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC). CFAC, a non-profit association of media organizations and related entities, began […]

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is getting dragged back into court over its refusal to disclose certain private equity fund investment information. Last Tuesday, the California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC) filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court, requesting that CalPERS be forced “to release all reports showing the amount of fees paid to […]

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration has voted to adopt a modest revision to its asset allocation mix that better reflects the system’s current investment holdings in an effort to reduce risk and save on transaction costs. The revised asset allocation mix calls for a 1% increase in both the pension […]