Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund hired BlackRock, HarbourVest Partners and Partners Group to manage $200 million each in global Shariah-compliant private equity separately managed accounts, the Kuala Lumpur-based fund said Friday.
The three private equity managers will make direct investments on behalf of the EPF as well as pursuing co-investment opportunities.
"The fund term will run from 2021 to 2031, subject to further extensions with EPF's consent," according to an EPF news release. The investment period will extend from 2021 through 2025.
EPF will become "the first institutional investor to establish a Shariah-compliant PE direct/co-investment fund," Alizakri Alias, the Malaysian retirement fund's outgoing chief EPF officer, said in the news release.
But he went on to note that BlackRock, HarbourVest and Partners Group all have "several exposures in managing Shariah-compliant mandates."
EPF officials could not immediately be reached for clarification.
On Feb. 10, the EPF announced that Amir Hamzah Azizan, the president and CEO of Malaysia's electric utility giant Tenaga Nasional Berhad, will replace Mr. Alizakri as CEO of the 941.8 billion ringgit ($233 billion) EPF effective March 1.
As of June 30, 2020, the EPF had 106 active investments in growth, buyout, middle market and large market strategies with combined commitments of $12.1 billion.
The news release said Dubai-based Amanie Advisors and Kuala Lumpur-based Zico Shariah Advisory Services Sdn. Bhd. have been retained to ensure that all investments by the separately managed accounts are Shariah compliant.
