NY Common partners with industry legend(2)

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is partnering with a legend of the private equity and venture capital industry.

Brooke Private Equity Associates, the investment firm founded by Peter Brooke, who founded Advent International in 1984 and TA Associates in 1968, will work with the state’s massive public fund to manage $250 million for co-investments with emerging managers. The pension fund chose Boston-based Brooke, which manages separate accounts, fund of funds and direct co-investments, to manage the capital as part of a joint venture with Farol Investment Advisors.

An initial $125 million of capital will be deployed over a three-year period, according to a spokesperson for the New York pension, with investments ranging between $5 million and $25 million per deal. The additional $125 million will be invested after the three-year period at the fund’s discretion. The investments will be made alongside managers in New York State Common’s emerging managers programme as well as groups with whom the pension has not invested in the past.

“The emerging manager programme diversifies the Fund’s portfolio by accessing an often overlooked pool of skilled investors including minority- and women-owned firms,” New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement.

Farol Investment Advisers is a joint venture between minority-owned investment management company Farol Asset Management and Brooke Private Equity Associates. Farol was founded by former Parish Capital executive Robert Azeke, who led Parish’s private equity co-investment programme and managed its relationship with New York State Common.

Brooke Private Equity, which also provides investment and advisory services to institutions and high net worth families investing in private equity and venture capital, is led by Brooke and his son John Brooke, a managing director at the firm.

New York State Common established its emerging managers programme in 1994 and manages about $3.2 billion invested with emerging managers. The programme is focused on investing with “smaller, newer funds and separate account managers, with a focus on minority and women business enterprises”, according to the pension.