Illinois pension fund earmarks $7b for private equity
The Teachers’ Retirement Board of the State of Illinois has won approval from its board of trustees for a plan that could see it invest up to $7 billion in private equity by 2016. The $37 billion fund wants to commit $900 million to $1.4 billion to the asset class in each of the next five years, Reuters reported.
Private equity currently accounts for 9.1% of the fund's total assets and this is expected to rise to 11% in 2012. The majority of these interests will fall under corporate finance opportunities, while up to 20% goes to venture capital and 25% to special situations such as distressed debt.
This vote of confidence in the industry comes as several private equity firms are preparing to raise new buyout funds. Warburg Pincus was last week said to be preparing a $12 billion fund while the likes of KKR and Apax Partners are also believed to have funds in the pipeline.
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