Pension: Washington State Investment Board
Assets Managed: $79 Billion (Sept. 30, 2011)
Private Equity Assets: $15.6 Billion (Sept. 30, 2011)
Chief Investment Officer: Gary Bruebaker
In the largest single commitment to a private equity fund this year,
Washington State is known for making large private equity commitments and has one of the nation’s largest programs with $15.6 billion in invested private equity capital as of Sept. 30. The commitment by the $79 billion pension system constituted the lion’s share of $950 million worth of private equity investments that it announced on Dec. 16.
Warburg Pincus’s Fund XI, which is targeting $12 billion, started fundraising in June. The new fund’s target is smaller than its predecessor, the $15 billion Fund X, which the firm closed in 2007.
Washington State has been one of Warburg Pincus’s longest-term investors. The pension’s latest investment is its eighth since it started investing with the firm in 1994. Altogether, Washington State has committed $3.1 billion to various Warburg Pincus funds, according to state performance data.
Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus manages more than $30 billion and invests across a variety of strategies.
Fund X, to which Washington State committed $750 million in 2007, has generated an IRR of 3.7 percent and a 1.1x return multiple through June. Fund IX, a vintage 2005 fund to which Washington pledged $700 million, has generated an IRR of 9.7 percent and a 1.5x return multiple through June.
Washington also committed $200 million to
Denham Capital, which has about $4.3 billion under management, typically targets equity investments of between $50 million and $250 million, according to its Web site. The investment is Washington State’s first with Denham.