Nebraska Investment Council, Lincoln, committed $50 million to Wynnchurch Capital Fund V, a private equity fund, Michael Walden-Newman, state investment officer, said in an email.
The council, which oversees $28.7 billion in total assets, made the commitment for its five defined benefit plans, which have a total of $12.8 billion in assets, and $2.2 billion cash balance plan, according to board documents from the council's Dec. 12 meeting. In 2015, the council committed $25 million to Wynnchurch Capital Fund IV.
It also hired Hamilton Lane to assume management of an $82 million fund of funds within the Omaha School Employees Retirement System's $161 million private equity portfolio. The portfolio had been managed by SPC Capital Management since 2001, but the council decided to go in another direction, Mr. Walden-Newman said.
Moreover, the council approved Union Bank & Trust, Lincoln, as the program manager for the $5.2 billion Nebraska Educational Savings Trust, Lincoln. The contract of the current program manager, 1st National Bank of Omaha, expires in 2020 and the firm chose to not respond to the request for a proposal earlier this year, according to Mr. Walden-Newman.
Lastly, the council voted to redeem its $181 million investment in the UBS Trumbull Property Fund, The Townsend Group, which serves as the council's real estate consultant, recommended the move, citing poor performance, according to board documents. The 10-year and 2006 inception returns for the fund underperformed its benchmark by 157 and 170 basis points, respectively, the board documents said.
"The primary attributing factor to TPF's underperformance has been their higher exposure to retail, specifically regional malls, which saw a 21% decline in property values during the 2019 second quarter," Townsend Group said in its recommendation.
The council's $181 million investment in the UBS fund comes from its five defined benefit plans, which have a total of $12.8 billion in assets, its $949 million 50/50 endowments, its $423 million health-care endowments, and the $1.3 billion Omaha School Employees Retirement System.
Townsend and the council staff will be conducting a core real estate search and expect to make a replacement recommendation expected to the board at its February meeting, board documents note.
