Private Equity News & Analysis

New York Common invests $40m in small cap funds

The $126bn pension committed to Clearlake Capital Partners as part of its emerging managers programme, and DeltaPoint Capital as part of its in-state investment programme.

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The New York State Common Retirement Fund has committed a total of $40 million to small cap funds managed by DeltaPoint Capital and Clearlake Capital Partners, as it continues to invest in the asset class despite a tumultuous year.

The $126 billion pension committed $25 million to DeltaPoint Capital’s fourth fund, which is targeting between $100 million and $125 million. The firm held a first close in November on $50 million, half of which was the New York Common investment.

DeltaPoint, based in Rochester, New York, invests between $2 million to $10 million of equity in deals ranging in size from $10 million to $75 million. New York Common’s investment in DeltaPoint is part of the pension’s “in-state” private equity programme, which targets commitments to firms that invest within the state. 

The pension also invested $15 million in Clearlake Capital Partners II, a distressed and special situations fund that is part of New York Common’s emerging managers’ programme. Clearlake is targeting $500 million for its second fund, and has collected at least $200 million. Another investor in the fund is the Teachers’ Retirement System of Illinois, which committed $25 million to the fund last year.

New York Common’s Emerging Manager Pioneer Programme targets first or second funds with assets under management below $750 million, as well as funds owned by women or minorities.

New York Common has continued investing in private equity despite an unfolding pay-to-play scandal that exploded publicly last March at the pension and has since spread to several other states.

Amid arrests and ongoing attorney general negotiations with private equity firms about their roles in the scandal, the pension last year  committed $100 million to Hudson Energy’s debut fund, which closed on $1 billion, and $200 million to Hellman & Friedman’s seventh fund, which closed in October after collecting $8.8 billion.

For more information about the pension scandal investigation, check PEO’s extensive archive of coverage to the right.