Contra Costa County pension builds PE relationships with $160m in commitments

The system formed new relationships with Hellman & Friedman and TA Associates.

Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association committed to three funds recently for a total of $167.5 million.

The LP formed two new relationships with commitments of $75 million to Hellman & Friedman fund X and $50 million to TA Associates XIV. The system also committed $42.5 million to Genstar Capital Partners X, after committing to Fund IX as well.

Hellman & Friedman raised its largest fund yet, with a total of $24.4 billion with Fund X. The firm is known for raising capital mostly from its existing roster of LPs, with small openings for new LPs. In this case, Contra Costa is a smaller county pension that was able to get a slice of the fund, which is a big win for the small player.

TA Associates as well is a firm that mostly raises from its existing investors. It closed Fund XIV on $12.5 billion, alongside its second Opportunities fund, which raised $1.5 billion. TA operates in the mid-market, with investments ranging from profitable‐stage minority investments to mid‐market growth buyouts.

Genstar closed its tenth fund on $10.2 billion earlier this year. The firm focuses on mid-market buyout opportunities in the software, financial services, industrials and health care industries.

CCCERA has an 11 percent target allocation towards private equity. According to the most recent chief investment officer report on June 30, 2021, the PE portion of the portfolio is currently in line with expectations, with the trailing one-year return at 36 percent, with the 5-year return at 14 percent and the 10-year at 12 percent.