Just happened

Paying it forward

Vista Equity Partners founder Robert Smith shocked graduating students from Atlanta’s Morehouse College on Sunday when he announced he would pay off their student loans. “On behalf of the eight generations of my family that have been in this country, we’re gonna put a little fuel in your bus,” Smith said. Now there’s a measurable example of the positive social impact PE investing can make.

Morgan a feeling

Morgan Stanley IM has become the latest firm to embrace GP stakes after acquiring a position in the parent company of French private equity manager Tikehau Capital. The banking giant invested alongside Tikehau’s existing owners, who together provided irrevocable commitments of €195 million in equity as part of a €300 million share capital increase.

Morgan Stanley used capital from its North Haven Tactical Value unit which targets long-term private markets investments across various asset classes. It’s understood Tikehau will use the capital and tie-up to push further into the US.

No more Nochus

Secondaries buyers expecting a deluge of giant portfolio sales by Japanese banks on the back of Norinchukin’s $5 billion offering – bagged by Ardian last week – should take a breath. The Basel III capital requirements that caused the sale were already dealt with by the bank’s competitors some time ago, per our colleagues at Secondaries Investor. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any sales; we hear several banks are considering some active management of their alternatives portfolios, which could result in some buying opportunities for secondaries players.

Essentials

PE in profile. Want to know more about CalPERS’ new head of PE? We’ve got you covered. Greg Ruiz’s GP experience will be key for the pension giant as it seeks to build up its direct investment capabilities, and a source tells us he will “get along well with all kinds”, a valuable attribute in a role that is as much about politics as it is money management.

Minority report. Blackstone’s Strategic Capital Group has made a minority investment in US mid-market tech-focused firm Marlin Equity Partners. Marlin will use the cash injection to expand its global platform and strengthen its alignment with LPs, and will seek to leverage Blackstone’s expertise and resources. Marlin already operates two fund families targeting different ends of the mid-market. The firm joins the likes of PAG, Kohlberg & Co and Leonard Green & Partners in the Blackstone stable.

LP meetings. It’s Monday, so here are some LP meetings to watch out for this week.

• 20 May – Minnesota State Board of Investment is holding an investment advisory council meeting; Orange County Employees Retirement System is holding a regular board meeting; and North Carolina State Treasury is holding an investment advisory council meeting
• 21 May – Montana Board of Investments is holding a board of investments meeting; City of Baltimore Fire & Police Employees’ Retirement System is holding an investment committee meeting; Maryland State Retirement and Pension System is holding an investment committee meeting; Oklahoma Teachers’ Retirement System is holding an investment committee meeting
• 22 May – Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System is holding a board meeting; Tulare County Employees Retirement Association is holding a retirement board meeting
• 24 May – North Dakota Retirement and Investment Office is holding an investment committee meeting

Inside tip

We’re hosting our Operating Partners Forum Europe in London tomorrow and Wednesday with speakers from Carlyle, Apax Partners, Hg and more. We’d love to see you there.

Dig deeper

Cathay commitment. The $204 billion Cathay Life Insurance has approved a $60 million commitment to New Enterprise Associates’ 17th vehicle. The Taiwanese life insurer has made several commitments this year, including to Blackstone’s latest flagship fund and StepStone’s fourth secondary opportunities fund. For more information on Cathay Life Insurance, as well as more than 6,700 other institutions, check out the PEI database.

He said it

“General Atlantic singled out Turkey as a place to not invest. That’s quite ironic. GA came into an angel investment of mine in 2011, and did a 6x in four years, so I thought it was kind of hypocritical of them to single out [Turkey] as a place to not invest.”

EarlyBird principal Cem Sertoglu references GA chief executive William Ford’s comments on Turkey at the IFC/EMPEA Global Private Equity Conference in Washington, DC last week.

We would love your feedback to help us make this newsletter more useful; click here to give us your opinion.

Today’s letter was prepared by Isobel Markham, Adam Le, Carmela Mendoza, Alex Lynn and Preeti Singh.

Subscribe now and get Side Letter delivered to your inbox each day

To find out how, email peisubs@peimedia.com, or call our team:

London: +44 207 566 5432
New York: +1 646 545 6296
Hong Kong: +852 2153 3140