Global pension funds are slightly below their target allocation to private equity as of June 19, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
In aggregate, 362 pension funds worldwide had a $6.4 million median net underallocation to private equity as of June 19, compared to a $4 million underallocation recorded March 28.
The median actual allocation to private equity was $264.1 million compared to the median target of $270.5 million as of June 19.
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California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) had the largest underallocation and is $6.81 billion short of its $59.84 billion target. The fund has narrowed its net underallocation from $11.34 billion in March.
New York State Common Retirement Fund's private equity allocation was $11.56 billion above target as of June, the largest overallocation among pension funds.
Top allocators
CalPERS and California State Teachers' Retirement System have the largest private equity allocation at $53.03 billion and $47.74 billion, respectively, as of June 19.
The lowest actual allocation to private equity is $1 million, held by Burlington Employees' Retirement System, New Orleans Firefighters' Pension and Relief Fund, Maynard Contributory Retirement System, City of Delray Beach Employees Retirement System, Chattanooga General Pension Fund and City of Franklin Employees' Pension Plan and Trust.
Limited partners' allocation to private equity to flatten
Limited partners (LPs) expect their capital allocation to private equity funds to flatten over the next 12 months, according to the Rede Liquidity Index survey by Rede Partners LLP, which covers the first half.
"Poor fundraising momentum will likely continue to persist for some time to come, largely spurred by low distribution expectations and flat valuations," the firm said.
LPs continue to expect scarcity of exit flow in the market, driven by the lack of IPO activity, challenges in securing funding for large deals and continued economic softness.
North American private equity funds are most attractive to investors, the Rede survey found. Likely reasons include historically strong returns recorded by US private equity firms, concerns regarding the economy, energy prices and inflation in Europe and the preference of US-based LPs for local private equity firms.