CalPERS committed $875 million to four private equity funds, according to agenda materials for the Sacramento-based pension plan's Nov. 13 investment committee meeting.
The $347.1 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System committed $400 million to Vista Equity Partners Fund VII-Z, a buyout fund with a focus on software, data and technology-enabled solutions companies managed by Vista Equity Partners Management. CalPERS has committed to Vista Equity Partners funds in the past, including commitments to Vista Equity Partners Fund III and Vista Foundation Fund I.
CalPERS also committed $200 million each to private equity funds Tailwind Capital Partners III and TPG Golden Bear Partners. Tailwind Capital Partners III is a middle market private equity fund. Further information about the TPG fund was unavailable by deadline.
Pension officials also committed $75 million to Palladium Equity Partners V, a buyout fund managed by Palladium Capital Management. CalPERS has committed to Palladium funds in the past, including Palladium Equity Partners III.
Separately, CalPERS plans to commit $6 billion to private equity in fiscal year 2019, a staff report noted.
CalPERS private equity staff in fiscal year 2018 made $5.3 billion of commitments to private equity funds, which was slightly below its $6 billion target, a report by CalPERS' private equity consultant Meketa Investment Group stated. CalPERS' $27.2 billion private equity portfolio earned a 16.1% net return in the fiscal year, an annualized 11.9% for the five years, 9% for the 10 years and 10.5% for the 20 years ended June 30. CalPERS' private equity portfolio underperformed its policy benchmark for all periods except for 20 years. CalPERS' benchmark returns were 18.6% for the year, an annualized 14.2% for five years, 13.5% for 10 years and 9.1% for 20 years.
