Louisiana Teachers’ commits $175 mln to Blackstone, TCV, TPG

Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana re-upped $175 million across three private equity funds, its July 12-13 meeting materials show.

“This is in line with the fund’s direction of committing to the best available GPs,” said Maurice Coleman, deputy chief investment officer at TRSL.

Hamilton Lane is the fund’s PE adviser.

The pension fund’s alternative-assets and real estate portfolio includes buyouts, venture capital, infrastructure, private debt, farmland, commodities, and core and opportunistic real estate.

Alternatives make up more than 70 percent of the $6.2 billion alternatives and real estate portfolio.

Of that, buyouts had an allocation of 11 percent, in line with the target allocation, as of June 30, 2018. Venture capital had an allocation of 2.6 percent versus a target allocation of 3 percent, documents said.

Last year the fund committed $1.6 billion to the asset class, including real estate, Coleman said. TRSL has not disclosed commitments for 2019 as yet, he said.

TRSL re-upped $75 million to Blackstone’s latest energy fund. The pension fund committed $100 million to Blackstone’s second energy fund in 2015 and $75 million to its debut energy fund in 2011.

Blackstone’s second energy fund was generating an 11.39 percent internal rate of return as of Sept. 30, 2017, California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s private documents said.

New Mexico State Investment Council also committed $100 million to Blackstone’s third fund, which is looking to raise $4.5 billion, Bloomberg reported.

TRSL also re-upped $50 million to Technology Crossover Ventures’ 10th fund. Previously it had committed $50 million to TCV’s eighth fund.

Technology Crossover Ventures’ 10th fund is expected to raise as much as $3 billion, Buyouts reported.

The pension fund also re-upped $50 million to TPG Partners’ eighth fund. The system previously committed to TPG Partners’ funds V, VI and VII.

TPG’s fifth and sixth funds returned IRRs of 5.2 percent and 11.3 percent as of June 30, 2017, according to Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System documents.

The $20.1 billion TRS Louisiana is the state’s largest public retirement system, with a membership of nearly 192,000.

The total fund returned 12.19 percent over one year, 9 percent over three years and 9.4 percent over five years, as of May 31, 2018.

The alternatives and real estate portfolio returned 12.39 over one year, 11.69 percent over three years and 11.74 percent over five years, as of that date, pension documents said.

Action Item: Read more on TRSL’s portfolio here https://www.trsl.org/investments