Minnesota State Board of Investment, St. Paul, on Wednesday approved committing a total of up to $650 million to six alternatives funds, subject to successful contract negotiations, said Mansco Perry III, executive director and chief investment officer.
The board, which oversees $83 billion in state pension fund and other assets, committed up to $150 million to Warburg Pincus Private Equity XII, a growth fund whose investments include health care, industry, technology and energy. The board previously has committed to six Warburg Pincus funds, with $200 million committed to Warburg Pincus Private Equity XI. Its other fund investments with Warburg Pincus have been redeemed.
The board also approved commitments of up to $100 million each to Brookfield Capital Partners IV, Thomas H. Lee Equity Fund VII and TPG Partners VII. All are first-time commitments by the board to those managers.
The Brookfield Asset Management fund is a concentrated portfolio invested in real estate, infrastructure and other real assets. The Thomas H. Lee Partners fund is a portfolio of private equity and credit, focusing on business and finance, health care, and media and information services. Tthe TPG fund is a midmarket buyout strategy targeting North American companies.
New commitments of up to $100 million each were made to two funds from firms that currently manage MSBI assets: Summit Partners Growth Equity Fund IX, a U.S.-focused private equity fund targeting late-stage technology and health-care firms; and Audax Mezzanine Fund IV, a mezzanine debt and equity, senior secured debt and private equity fund run by Audax Group.
The board previously committed $100 million each to Summit Growth Equity Fund VII and Audax Mezzanine III.
MSBI had a 20% target allocation to alternatives and an actual allocation of 12.1%, as of March 31.
The commitments were recommended to the board by its investment advisory committee during a meeting Aug. 18.
