News & Analysis

The largest pension in the US has charged its staff with creating a disclosure policy for placement agents and their fees after it was revealed that CalPERS has ties to a kick-back scandal involving the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

The European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles, has made three new appointments to its management board, as one of the existing founders, Morgan Stanley’s Jan-Willem de Geus, relocates to Singapore.

A poll of fund managers conducted by INREV and presented at its annual conference today revealed that only €6.1 billion($7.96 billion) will be raised in Europe this year by unlisted funds compared to €10.2 billion in 2008.

Leon Bressler, managing partner of New York-based Perella Weinberg Partner’s real estate investment management business, tells delegates at the annual conference hosted by The European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Funds (INREV) that his firm sees opportunities across all sectors and in different countries in Europe.

British Chancellor Alistair Darling announced plans for a £750m Strategic Investment Fund in today’s budget, which the UK’s private equity and venture capital trade body says is 'reminiscent of the 1970s'.

The state’s comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, has banned the use of placement agents in investments with the $122bn pension, and has launched a review of pension investments with firms involved in the New York Common kick-back scandal.

The London-listed fund of funds has decided it will continue life as a listed investment trust, but will not be making any meaningful new fund commitments for up to two years.

The Florida-based turnaround firm, which has had a string of portfolio companies seek bankruptcy since last year, will use $150m from its $1.5bn Fund IV and its $6bn Fund V for growth investments in the fourth fund.

Andrew Cuomo, the attorney general of New York, has accused a former political leader of collecting $800,000 in sham finder’s fees for directing pension investments to two private equity firms.

The turnaround specialist, which has seen about 10 of its portfolio companies tumble into bankruptcy since last year, has extended debtor-in-possession loans to two of its bankrupt companies and plans to control them after they emerge from Chapter 11.