The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) is searching for a New Investment Vehicle that will focus on domestic emerging managers for the pension funds private equity program.
Through a request for information process, CalPERS is casting a wide net for a vehicle most likely structured as a customized fund-of-funds to invest in partnerships that may be undercapitalized. The partnerships should offer significant potential for generating superior risk-adjusted rates of return for the CalPERS Alternative Investment Management (AIM) Program.
Through the manager, were looking for partnerships whose principal officers have individual experiences and underlying investment strategies to generate earnings in the top quartile of private equity investments, says Ral Desrochers, senior investment officer for the AIM Program. This entails partnerships or direct investments, deal sourcing, analyzing, screening, due diligence, negotiating and closing transactions, monitoring and exiting investments.
The manager would invest on behalf of CalPERS in a seven- to ten-year relationship across the private equity spectrum, including venture capital, expansion capital and leverage buyout transactions.
The New Investment Vehicle will complement other emerging manager initiatives in the AIM Program to diversify portfolios and generate added returns by partnering with managers and funds that eventually might join the core AIM lineup of partners and funds.
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