LA Water & Power committed to Industry Ventures funds

This is the pension's first commitment to funds managed by the VC secondaries firm, which amassed $700m for its latest dedicated platform in June.

Industry Ventures received a $72 million commitment from Los Angeles Water & Power Employees’ Retirement Plan to its latest secondaries platform, which closed in June.

LA Water & Power invested $45 million in the venture capital-focused fund of funds’ Industry Ventures Secondary VIII and $27 million in Industry Ventures Special Opportunities Fund III, a pension spokesman confirmed.

The San Francisco-headquartered firm raised $500 million for fund VIII, a dedicated secondaries fund, and $200 million for the Special Opportunities Fund III which invests in larger transactions alongside the main fund. The total $700 million haul is thought to be the largest dedicated pool of VC secondaries capital ever raised.

Industry Ventures’ 2013-vintage $425 million Industry Ventures Secondary VII is about 70 percent called and the firm is preparing to start investing Fund VIII, Hans Swildens, founder and chief executive, told Secondaries Investor in mid-August.

This is LA Water & Power’s first commitment to Industry Ventures funds. The $11 billion pension has previously invested in secondaries through funds managed by Landmark Partners and Lexington Partners, according to PEI data.

LA Water & Power had allocated 8 percent of its total investments to private equity as of June last year.

Click here for our April story on Industry Ventures Secondary Fund VIII’s terms.