Alaska to spend $850m on private equity

The Alaska Permanent Fund has set aside $600 million for private equity investments in 2010, plus $250 million that went unspent for commitments last year.

Last year, the state’s oil and gas endowment set aside $500 million for private equity commitments. The $35 billion fund uses HarbourVest Partners and Pathway Capital Management as gatekeepers for its 6 percent private equity allocation.

HarbourVest manages a separate account for the fund with a “discretionary, broadly diversified global mandate”, according to a past statement from APF.

The fund’s private equity portfolio is valued at about $4 billion.

This year, the fund has already committed $500 million to mezzanine investment funds run by Oaktree Capital Management and Audax Group. APF committed $250 million to OCM Mezzanine III, which is targeting $2.5 billion, and $250 million to Audax Mezzanine III, with a target of $750 million.