Private equity
OMERS Capital Partners (OCP) manages our private equity investments and has delivered strong returns exceeding the benchmark over the last three years. OCP continues to develop and strengthen investment relationships around the world which are the foundation for our future growth and meeting our long term objectives. At the end of 2007, the private equity team managed 61 fund relationships and 24 direct investments.
Private equity is the ownership of equity or equity-like securities in companies that do not generally trade publicly. Our goal over the long term is to build a portfolio of private equity investments diversified by geographic market, industry sector, size of company and type of investment that will represent approximately 10 per cent of our asset mix.
Our private equity investment strategy includes both a fund and a direct investment program. Our fund investment programs involve making investment commitments as a limited partner in a select number of top tier private equity funds managed by external investment professionals who have demonstrated the ability to consistently outperform their peers over time in selecting companies in which to invest. Other factors important in our consideration in making fund commitments include the quality, continuity and depth of the investment management team, the amount of capital the investment management team is committing, the strategic fit within our investment program and the likelihood of being presented co-investment opportunities. The types of fund commitments we make include leverage buyouts, venture capital, mezzanine debt, distress and special situations. Leverage buyouts represent the majority of our fund commitments, representing from 65 to 85 per cent of our investment program. The fund investment strategy is an efficient and cost-effective investment approach to achieve a diversified investment portfolio. We use diversification to manage investment risk. Individual fund commitments range from $50 million to up to $250 million.
Visit OMERS Capital Partners website at http://www.omerscapital.com/