Amid a flurry of new commitments and passed-up proposals, the
Shah oversees a private equity portfolio that has room to grow as it aims for a target of 7 percent (with a cap of 12 percent) of the pension fund’s $72 billion of assets. New York Teachers’ has about 60 general partner relationships and more than 100 different funds in its private equity program. The limited partner, which has an appetite for buyout, venture capital, international and special situation funds, had an actual allocation to private equity of 6.7 percent, as of Dec. 31, 2009.
To help reach its target, in January the pension fund announced two new private equity commitments. The LP made a pledge of up to $65 million to Houston-based
Also in January, the pension fund renewed its agreement with
As for its plans in 2010, a spokesperson noted that the staff reviews dozens of private equity proposals each quarter, but most do not pass the initial screening. Those that do are evaluated in greater detail with the assistance of StepStone. Only proposals that meet the LP’s needs and are run by managers with strong track records are brought to the board for consideration, he said.