Friday, 20 June 2014

Pension Funds Looking to Private Equity



"PENSION funds are realising that some pretty decent odds lie in their members’ favour if they get an early slice of the rapidly expanding private equity industry. This is new territory for local funds as changes to the law only took effect in 2012, although it had been discussed since 2010, ushering in higher investable limits of 10% from just 2.5% before. The change brought SA into line with global standards, but until now the take-up has been rather slow. It is rare to find funds that invest as much as 10% in private equity; the average is still below 5%.

A lack of liquidity across African exchanges has certainly left the door open for rapid expansion of companies in the unlisted space, and more investors want to get a piece of the action. This month’s 2014 KPMG and Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association report says the asset class expanded 17% last year to reach R162.2bn in funds under management.

The major portion of the funds raised were from pension funds, and in particular the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), the bulk of whose assets are managed by the Public Investment Corporation. Almost 60% of the R46.1bn raised in the last two years could be attributed to the GEPF.
Other big funds are likely to get more involved too — the JSE, which reached another high this week, is getting a bit too hot for many portfolio managers to handle."

http://www.bdlive.co.za/companies/2014/06/20/company-comment-nadeson-investments-private-equity-industry

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