LPs
LP interview: Munich Private Equity Partners
Munich Private Equity Partners set up its first overseas office in Shanghai to demonstrate a commitment to Asian managers, with China at the fore. It is now seeking out local champions
GPIF joins DBJ, OMERS to invest up to $2.7b in infrastructure
Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), has formed a partnership with Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) to jointly invest in infrastructure assets.
CalPERS CIO Joseph Dear dies following cancer battle
Joseph Dear, chief investment officer at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), has died. Dear had been battling prostate cancer and last summer stepped back from his role to undergo treatment.
Q&A: HarbourVest's Sebastiaan van den Berg
Sebastiaan van den Berg, managing director and head of Asia at HarbourVest Partners, discusses his expectations for Australian deal flow, best practice for IPO exits, and co-investment opportunities
Australian pension funds: Indecent disclosure?
The Australian government is expected to halt and wind back superannuation fund disclosure requirements that go beyond global norms. Industry participants are hopeful for the best, but mindful of the worst
Q&A: HESTA's Andrew Major & QIC's Marcus Simpson
Andrew Major, general manager for investments at HESTA and Marcus Simpson, head of global private equity at QIC, share their views on PE performance and where the best investment opportunities lie
Chinese insurers approved to commit more to private equity
The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has raised the cap on insurers’ exposure to publicly traded companies and private equity to 30% of total assets.
CalPERS lowers investment risk, trims PE allocation
California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest public pension fund in the US with more than $277 billion in assets, will reduce its target allocation for private equity from 14% to 12%. The move is part of a broader effort to lower...
ESG: Nice guys finish last?
Responsible investment has is now a priority for many institutional LPs. GPs might recognize the importance of environmental, social and governance principles in this context, but acting on them can be challenging
Adveq in $200m Australia almonds play
Adveq’s real assets division has completed the purchase of 18,000 hectares of almond orchards in Australia for A$211 million ($200 million) from commodities conglomerate Olam International. Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan and Danica...
LP interview: Axiom Asia
Axiom Asia has followed a consistent approach in backing small to mid-market country funds in the Asia Pacific region. Chihtsung Lam, the firm’s co-founder and managing partner, explains the strategy
Partners Group, Mizuho target Japanese pension funds
Partners Group has reached a deal with Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) to jointly develop and distribute global private equity and infrastructure products to Japanese pension schemes.
A new constituency
As one GP now puts it, sovereign wealth funds "are now the 1,000-pound gorilla in the room."
Asia, Middle East LPs help Affinity to $3.8b close on Fund IV
Affinity Equity Partners has reached a final close of $3.8 billion on its fourth pan-Asian fund, with investors from Asia and the Middle East accounting for a larger share of the corpus than their North American counterparts.
Big brother: Japan's government LPs
The government is becoming an increasingly significant LP in Japanese private equity funds. Smaller GPs can’t live without it but there are wider concerns about sustainability and long-term economic impact
An issue of GP sustainability
Amongst the key issues raised at our AVCJ Forum last November was the fact that many Asian private equity firms lack a long-term business model for both their investments and themselves. This issue will become increasingly important as the industry continues...
Korea sovereign fund's CIO resigns
Dong-Ik Lee, the CIO of Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), has resigned. This comes less than three months after Chong-Suk Choi, president and CEO of the sovereign wealth fund, resigned for personal reasons.
Has Asian PE lost its mojo?
Rewind 14 months to the 2012 AVCJ Forum and LPs were lukewarm on Asia. Several institutional investors participating in panels said it was difficult to justify committing more than 10% of their private equity allocation to the region until risk factors...
Sprott, Woori win Korean mandate for $750m global resources fund
South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) will lead a consortium of institutional investors in putting up half the capital for a $750 million private equity fund to be managed by Canadian asset manager Sprott and Woori Asset Management. The 10-year...
CalPERS to cut 269 private equity managers
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is looking to cut its number of GP relationships to less than a third of the current 389.
Japan's GPIF to make infra investments with OMERS, DBJ - report
Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) will join Canada's Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) and the government-owned Development Bank of Japan to invest in infrastructure projects abroad.
PSERS, Louisiana Teachers commit to CVC's fourth Asia fund
CVC Capital Partners has received $175 million in commitments to its fourth Asia Pacific fund from Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) and Teachers’ Retirement Systems of Louisiana (TRSL).
Onward bound: Asia PE people moves
A selection of the transfers, promotions, arrivals and departures in the private equity community in 2013
LPs expect Asia to underperform North American, European buyouts – Coller Barometer
Global institutional investors expect returns from Asia-focused GPs to trail those of their North American and European counterparts over the next 3-5 years, according to the latest edition of Coller Capital’s Global Private Equity Barometer.