By David G. Barry
The Los Angeles County Employees Retirement
Association (LACERA)
committed to a pair of venture funds and took action against a public equities
manager who is losing two of its partners.
The $72.8 billion plan’s Board of Investments approved a commitment of up to
$25 million to Primary Venture Partners IV, L.P., a seed-stage venture
fund focused on consumer and business-to-business technology startups, and up
to $25 million to Primary Select III, L.P., which will invest in
mid-to-later stage Primary Venture Partners’ investments.
The board also said that it took action in executive session related to Genesis
Investment Management, LLP. It did not say what that action was, only that
it would be reported out in the future. In a note to the board prior to its
meeting, LACERA Chief Investment Officer Jonathan Grabel said Yiyong
Yang and Rufus Frazier, both of whom are partners and portfolio managers with
Genesis, are leaving the firm. Yang is leaving the firm at the end of the year
while Frazier is leaving to pursue other interests. Their responsibilities,
according to Grabel’s note, are being transitioned to the rest of the portfolio
management team.
According to documents presented to LACERA’s board in March, the Genesis
Emerging Markets fund had a negative 7% return in 2021. It has a 12% return
over three years and a 9.7% over five years. LACERA’s Genesis stake was valued
at $637 million at the end of 2021, down from $668 million at the end of the
third quarter of 2021.
LACERA also disclosed that in April, it approved a $30 million co-investment
commitment alongside Atlantic Street Capital Partners, which LACERA also
is backing. The investment that LACERA is backing was not disclosed. Atlantic
Street has announced one investment in 2022. In May, it increased its
investment in portfolio company Zips Car Wash.