The New Zealand Superannuation Fund will invest as much as $260 million over the coming decade in small-scale local enterprises through three new mandates with Kiwi private equity firms.
NZ Super will invest up to $90m in Direct Capital's V fund, up to $120m in Pioneer Capital's III fund, and up to $50m in Movac's IV fund over the next five to 10 years, it said in a statement. Each fund is expected to invest in eight to 15 separate companies.
"New Zealand continues to provide attractive investment opportunities in small to medium-sized companies, which are high growth, typically internationally focused, and able to benefit from the expertise that these managers can provide," NZ Super chief investment officer Matt Whineray said in a statement. "External managers are a logical and efficient way for the fund to get access to the growth opportunities in the sector."
The sovereign wealth fund had assets of about $31.9 billion at November 30, of which about $4.9b is invested locally. The fund's manager has existing relationships with Direct Capital and Pioneer Capital, though the Movac mandate is a new one.
NZ Super said the Direct Capital fund will operate at the larger end of market, while Pioneer will chase mid-market companies looking at international growth and the Movac fund will focus on early-stage, high growth technology companies. All three funds are new offerings.
