Digital infrastructure is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after strategies within real assets for public pension plans. Digital infrastructure funds invest in the critical assets that help power and support our increasingly data-driven and Internet-connected world. Funds invest in assets such as cell towers, fiber optics lines & network, and data centers.
The mercurial nature and uncertainty of the markets in 2020 left many industry observers wondering how public pension plan allocators would approach commitments to private markets funds in 2021. Crossing the midpoint of the year affords us the opportunity to pause and look back at how it has progressed in terms of private equity fundraising while also looking to the future to see what the rest of the year may hold for fundraising GPs.
After 2020, which saw London-based CVC Capital Partners take top spot for capital raised from US-based pension plans, data through the mid-year mark of 2021 from eVestment shows that interest in European fund managers and strategies remains robust.
As of 6/30/2021 the plans tracked by eVestment had reported 2021 commitments of over $10.3 billion to European strategies. Interest in the continent is spurred in part by pension plans seeking differentiated strategies from the crowded and frothy US market and more positive outlooks from consultants.
Katey Bogue, Head of Private Fund Solutions at Nasdaq, recently sat down with Kasper Wichmann, an experienced LP investor for a wide ranging conversation about communication in the private markets.
In June 2021 public pension plans reported $6.45 billion in commitments to private equity funds according to data tracked by Nasdaq eVestment. The total represents 111 commitments from 37 pension plans. June was the third highest month for commitments in 2021 trailing March ($10.8 billion) and April ($9.0 billion).
Each quarter State of Michigan Retirement System issues a Private Equity Review that provides a deep dive into the pension plan’s PE portfolio. In this article will highlight some of the major takeaways from the document and discuss why Market Lens users value the insights found in the review.
Real-time data on how pension plans are committing capital for private fund managers offers valuable insight into how the market is trending, what strategies are popular with investors, and which of their competitors are finding fundraising success.
While keeping tabs on recent commitment activity is valuable intel for GPs, forward-looking insights give fund managers actionable data points. Knowing the LPs with clear intentions to commit to their strategies can serve as the foundation for planning and executing a successful fundraise.
As US-based pension plans strive to put capital to work in the private markets, one area has increasingly come into focus as a destination for new commitments: their home states.
Historically, an overwhelming percentage of capital invested in private funds has flowed to companies located in a short list of states: places like California, Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and Texas.
In an effort to change this dynamic and stimulate their local economies, state pension plans are increasingly issuing RFPs for in-state investment programs.
Opinions and insights from institutional investors on the fees charged by private fund managers can be valuable feedback for GPs preparing to launch new funds as well as those seeking re-ups from existing investors.
In a panel discussion held during a recent eVestment-hosted event, Evolving Private Markets: Exploring the LP/GP Relationship of Tomorrow, we asked investors from three large pension plan operators for their thoughts on the state of fees in the private markets.
Private fund managers often justify their fees by pointing to their track records and claiming that by investing in private companies they are delivering superior returns that are uncorrelated to public markets. But according to research from Vanguard using data from 1980 through 2012, only the top quartile of private equity returns have materially outperformed public markets.
Public market equivalent (PME) analysis gives context to a fund manager’s performance by comparing it against a public market index. It provides a more measurable, continuous benchmark compared to blind pool peer performance datasets.