The Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association has been an uneven investor in venture capital.

Commitments have risen and fallen over the years without obvious pattern. In 2006, earmarked capital was $105 million, according to a peHUB analysis of its portfolio. A year earlier, it was $67 million. The year before it was $93 million, and the year before that, $40 million.

One point of consistency shows through. The Rocky Mountain limited partner favors big bets. From 2001 to 2009, half of the 26 commitments it made to VC firms were for $25 million or more, according to the peHUB analysis of portfolio data updated through Dec. 31. Thirteen were for $20 million or less.

This big bet philosophy appears to have had some success. Nine of the funds with large commitments have positive IRRs ranging from 1.19% to 11.41%. The median is 7.47%.

What follows is a slideshow with the 13 big bet commitments from smallest to largest. Five of the commitments were for $25 million and three for $30 million, so these duplicates are simply list one after another chronologically to start the show.

Please note that the peHUB analysis looked at venture funds and balanced funds with venture style investments, as identified by Thomson Reuters, publisher of this blog. Colorado PERA does not release portfolio net asset value, so an assessment of a fund’s future prospects is hard to make.

(Photo by Lamarinx/Shutterstock)

No. 13: Enterprise Partners VI

Vintage: 2001

Firm: Enterprise Partners Venture Capital

Commitment: $25 million

Cash In: $25 million

Cash Out: $0

IRR: -7.91%

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