Oregon PERF commits up to $450 mln, using new delegating authority

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund committed up to $450 million across four private equity investments using its newly increased authority to commit up to $350 million without the full investment council’s approval.

Oregon Investment Council, which oversees $103 billion in assets, including the state’s $79 billion public-pension system, updated its investment policy in March to allow its three-member PE committee to make larger commitments.

The panel can now commit up to $350 million to funds managed by Oregon’s existing general partners — a $100 million increase over the old cap. Oregon’s investment committee used that authority for the first time on Aug. 7, committing up to $350 million to Hellman & Friedman IX, according to spokesman James Sinks.

The Hellman & Friedman fund will focus on large-scale PE investments in high-quality growth businesses in North America and Western Europe, with a target size of $15 billion to $16 billion.

The pension system got approval to commit up to $350 million but it likely won’t invest the full amount, Sinks said.

“We will not know our final allocation until the closing actually occurs,” Sinks said. “We would anticipate that amount to be different from $350 million.”

The council also approved $100 million in commitments to GGV Capital, as well as a previously reported $500 million commitment to Vista Equity Partners.

The private equity committee committed $64 million to the GGV Capital VII fund, $16 million to the GGV Capital VII Plus fund, and $20 million to the GGV Discovery II fund.

GGV is a multistage venture capital manager that invests in both China and the U.S. GGV is seeking to raise $1.9 billion across seven funds, including the three chosen by Oregon, according to an August 13 SEC filing.

Action Item: OIC’s latest PE quarterly report: https://bit.ly/2w8nQ3G