New Hampshire commits $75m to HarbourVest and Top Tier

The pension, which has $1bn in PE assets, invested in Dover Street X and a VC fund of funds managed by Top Tier Capital Partners.

New Hampshire Retirement System has raised its exposure to venture capital and private equity secondaries.

The Concord-headquartered pension committed $50 million to HarbourVest Partners‘ flagship secondaries fund Dover Street X and $25 million to Top Tier Venture Velocity Fund III, a VC fund of funds that mainly makes secondaries investments, New Hampshire public information officer Marty Karlon confirmed.

The pension previously committed $50 million and $25 million, respectively, to the 2015-vintage Dover Street IX and 2017-vintage Top Tier Venture Velocity Fund II, according to PEI data. It has around $1 billion invested in private equity.

A document from Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association from 25 March shows Dover X’s target is $5.75 billion.

The Boston-headquartered manager offers an early-close discount for limited partners that invest before 31 May, according to documents prepared for the University of Houston System. The fund will invest roughly two-thirds in complex secondaries deals and is targeting a net multiple of 1.4x-2x on each deal, the documents note. University of Houston committed $7.5 million.

Top Tier Capital Partners makes secondaries investments in venture capital funds, along with fund investments and co-investments. The target for Top Tier Venture Velocity Fund III is not clear. Its 2017 predecessor raised $282 million, against a target of $250 million, by final close in March 2018.

Venture capital accounted for 29 percent of fund stakes sold on the secondaries market last year, according to data from advisor Greenhill.