Oregon grants PE committee authority to make larger commitments

  • PE committee can commit up to $350 mln to new funds from existing GPs
  • Cap raised to $250 mln for new relationships with GPs
  • Committee includes Deputy Treasurer, CIO, OIC member

Oregon Investment Council greenlit a plan that would allow its private equity committee to make larger commitments to new funds without the approval of the entire council, spokesman James Sinks told Buyouts.

The council’s updated policy gives the three-member PE committee the ability to commit as much as $350 million to funds managed by Oregon’s existing general partners — a $100 million increase over the current cap. The cap on funds managed by new GPs was raised by $100 million to $250 million.

The committee is composed of Oregon’s deputy state treasurer and CIO — currently Darren Bond and John Skjervem, respectively — as well as one member of the Oregon Investment Council.

New commitments are contingent on the committee’s unanimous support and a favorable due-diligence report, the updated policy shows.

The change accounts for a market environment that’s propelled the retirement system to $79 billion, more than double the $33 billion it managed in 2003, Sinks said. PE funds grew larger in recent years as more investors built out their investment programs and increased their allocations to the asset class.

Oregon also sought to reduce the overall number of managers within its alternative-asset portfolios, Sinks said. Oregon has to commit larger amounts to each general partner in order to meet their allocation targets.

In January, Oregon committed 300 million euros ($368.6 million) to Bridgepoint’s sixth flagship fund, which is targeting 5.5 billion euros for European buyouts.

The retirement system also committed up to $200 million to a TAO Contingent fund managed by TPG Sixth Street Partners, TPG’s credit-related investment platform, through its opportunistic investment platform.

Oregon held 18.7 percent of its assets, more than $14.6 billion, in PE investments as of Jan. 31, 2018. The retirement system has a 17.5 percent target allocation to the asset class.

Action Item: Oregon Investment Council: www.oregon.gov/treasury/Divisions/Investment/Pages/Oregon-Investment-Council-(OIC).aspx

Oregon CIO John Skjervem at the Buyouts PartnerConnect West Conference in October 2015. Photo by Buyouts Staff.