Mark Boslet

The University of Texas Investment Management Company has been an active growth fund investor for the past several years. The strategy appears to have paid off reasonably well, although a number of the funds are still too young to know for sure. The main goal of the program is diversity. The funds are almost evenly […]

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System’s venture portfolio is an unlikely assortment of secondary funds, funds of funds and mid-sized venture funds that have been shunned by LPs elsewhere. The strategy appears to be paying off. Gains from several Top Tier Capital Partners and Essex Woodlands Health Ventures funds helped lift performance early this year. […]

Few public pension portfolios drive private equity performance with a secondaries first strategy. But it seems to be working for the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board. Seven funds from the money manager’s 13-fund portfolio, which includes venture, growth and mezzanine vehicles, focus on secondaries. And of the seven top performers, five are secondary funds, according […]

Mid-sized venture funds may be fewer in number, but returns haven’t disappeared from some LP’s portfolios. Seven of the top 10 funds in the California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s current venture portfolio are funds in the mid tier of venture. Returns from some are pretty extraordinary. OrbiMed Advisors’ fourth fund from 2010 boasted an IRR […]

Funds from the challenging post-bubble years at the turn of the new century have always had a steep mountain to climb. Difficult financial markets, cautious capital and tepid innovation combined to create a troubled time for venture investors. This is evident in most venture portfolios of the era, including those managed by the California State […]

The New York State & Local Retirement System has benefited by doing what many large pension funds don’t: sticking to a smaller fund venture strategy. In the past dozen years, the public LP in large part has favored early stage funds of $100 million or so and less, and avoided big multi- and late-stage offerings […]

Broad gains in performance boosted the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System’s portfolio of recent vintage venture funds. The gains during 2013 were widespread, showing up in half of the LP’s 26 funds with vintages of 2009 to 2014. But they were particularly noticeable at a handful of them, including Trinity Ventures X, Menlo Ventures XI […]

Diversity is the watchword for the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System’s mid-decade venture portfolio. The money manager owns a pretty even mix of early-stage, late-stage, balanced, secondary and funds of funds investments for the vintage years 2004 to 2008. Its holdings are evenly divided among large pools of capital with $1 billion or more in […]

Late-stage bets have paid off nicely for the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund. The growth-stage-focused Union Square Ventures Opportunity Fund leads the LP’s portfolio of recently-minted venture funds and funds of funds. Close behind is the late-stage OrbiMed Private Investments IV, according to a recent portfolio report updating performance to March 2014. Several of the […]