Los Angeles pension fund invests $25m in Hony V

The information was disclosed in the agenda for the pension system's board of administration meeting on March 13. LACERS also committed up to $10 million each to The Blackstone Group's $3 billion energy-focused buyout fund and Avenue Capital's latest Europe special situations vehicle.

This is the first time the system has invested in a Hony fund. According to AVCJ Research, the private equity firm began to win over US institutional players when raising its fourth fund, which closed at $1.4 billion in 2008. California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are said to have been among 45 LPs that applied for commitments.

LACERS' participation suggests that LP interest in Hony continues to broaden as US institutions become suitably familiar with leading Asian GPs. Several are willing to invest directly rather going via fund-of-funds or only backing regional vehicles launched by global firms.

With $10.8 billion under management for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, LACERS is America's 120th largest public pension fund. It latest asset allocation targets indicate 37% for US equities, 20% for non-US equities, 26% for fixed income, 7% for real estate, 9% for alternative investments and 1% cash.

Alternative investments delivered a return of -3.1% for the quarter ending December 31, 2011, while all other assets classes saw positive returns. However, alternatives outperform other classes across all time periods apart from on a three-year basis.

LACERS approved six PE and VC partnerships in the 2011 fiscal year, totaling $110 million in committed capital. Hamilton Lane serves as its advisor on alternative investment activity.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• North America
• LPs
• Fundraising
• Fundraising
• LPs
• Hony Capital
• China
• USA