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LACERA stays on course to meet its pacing commitment target

The US pension backed a technology-focused PE fund in its latest round of commitments.

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Institution: Los Angeles County Employees’ Retirement Association
Headquarters: Pasadena, US
AUM: $59.84 billion
Allocation to private equity: 10.9%

Los Angeles County Employees’ Retirement Association has approved a $100 million commitment to STG VI, according to its September 2020 retirement board meeting documents. LACERA has already made over $1 billion in private equity commitments for the 2020 calendar year. Its pacing model for calendar year 2020 recommends $1.6 billion in fund commitments.

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Highlights from LACERA’s September 2020 meeting documents:

  • As of 31 March 2020, the since-inception (1986) IRR of its private equity portfolio was 15.9 percent. The pension has consistently outperformed its benchmark. However, its Q1 2020 yielded a negative return of -7.1 percent.
  • As of 31 July 2020, the institution’s private equity portfolio accounted for 10.9 percent of its entire investment portfolio. The buyout strategy accounted for 59 percent of the private equity portfolio’s market value, while its exposure to US-focused funds has been highly concentrated at 72 percent.
  • The pension’s private equity portfolio consists of 74 active managers accounting for 156 investments. Vista Equity Partners is the largest manager with five managed funds, accounting for 7.5 percent of the private equity portfolio.
  • The pension discussed the ‘LACERA T.I.D.E.’ initiative that considers diversity, equity and inclusion in the investment process and when evaluating investment partners.

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LACERA has been investing in private equity funds since 1986. The pension’s recent commitments have been to funds that focus primarily on buyout and venture capital vehicles across North America and Europe.

Jonathan Grabel is LACERA’s chief investment officer. Prior to joining the institution in 2017, Grabel served as the chief investment officer at another public pension, Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico. Jude Perez is the deputy chief investment officer and has been at the pension since 2018. The pension’s private equity consultant is StepStone Group.

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