News and Analysis

For more on the Kleiner decision — and LP pressure on firms like Accel, Redpoint and Benchmark — check out Monday’s print edition of Private Equity Week. In a move certain to reverberate through the VC industry, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has informed its limited partners that it will likely call down 20%-25% less […]

Be gone, IRRs! Come June, limited partners will demand a new “cash-in and cash-out” standard for measuring returns on private equity funds. “IRRs are meaningless,” says Richard Hayes, chairman of the newly incorporated Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) and senior investment officer for CalPERS’ alternative investment program. “Although IRRs are an indication of how a […]

Venture capitalists are getting so picky these days that soon they may have to cater to investors with special demands on where or what type of investments are made. The issue came to the forefront recently when the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) announced plans to pull out of four controversial countries. CalPERS, which […]

If you’re trying to raise money from mega fund-of-funds Hamilton Lane, don’t be surprised if you’re asked about bus accidents. “I kind of like to refer to it as the hit-by-the-bus clause,” says Paul Yett, vice president and general manager of venture capital at Hamilton Lane. “The question I ask is: If John Smith gets […]

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has taken its investment strategy to a whole new level. Not only did CalPERS, the largest public employee pension fund with over $140 billion in assets, commit $250 million to Yucaipa American Funds> (YAF) – it also invested $35 million into the holding company to take an undisclosed […]

California Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (CalPERS) Chief Investment Officer Daniel Szente announced last week that he would be stepping down from that post effective November 30. Szente’s decision comes on the heels of a legal battle launched last year by California Controller Kathleen Connell, who wants to cut back compensation for CalPERS’ investment portfolio managers. […]

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has carved out a $75 million stake in a $250 million private equity fund that is to target Thai companies with pools of growth and expansion capital. The Thailand Equity Fund, co-sponsored by San Francisco-based Lombard Investments Inc. and the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. (IFC), will invest […]

The California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) last month evaluated its asset allocations and made some notable changes in favor of private equity. The $96 billion pension fund decided to increase its allocation to alternative assets to 8% from 4.9%. While some private equity fund raisers, particularly rookies, are having a tough time finding the […]

American River Ventures, one of a handful of new Sacramento, Calif.-based venture firms intent on financing a new generation of regional entrepreneurs, last week received a $10 million jump-start from the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). CalPERS’ investment is the first institutional commitment toward the first-time fund’s $25 million fund-raising target. Once the firm […]

Despite the arrival of spring, there’s a dark cloud hovering over private equity firms that receive commitments from state pension funds. While upcoming changes to the Florida Retirement System could possibly give the group less to invest in alternative assets when they take effect next year, they also mark the start of a slow, steady […]