PaSERS Earned Healthy Return In 2007

The Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System raked in more than $5.2 billion on its investment portfolio in 2007, the limited partner announced in late February. The $35 billion pension plan posted a 17.2 percent return, earning it a place among the top 5 percent of large U.S. public pension funds.

The median return for large public pension plans in 2007 was 8.7 percent, according to the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Survey.

PaSERS’ long-term target allocation to private equity is 14 percent. As of Dec. 31, the public pension fund had committed just over 15 percent of its portfolio to the asset class. The LP currently has commitments to 208 buyout funds, including ABRY Partners V LP, APAX Europe VII LP, Asia Alternatives Capital Partners LP, Avenue Special Situations Fund V LP, Bain Capital Fund X LP, Blackstone Capital Partners V LP, Cerberus Institutional Partners Series IV LP, Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners VI LP, OCM Opportunities Fund VII LP and TPG Asia V LP, among others. PaSERS also has commitments to 114 venture capital vehicles.—J.P.