Christopher Witkowsky

Asia, the Middle East and Europe are set to increase their alternative asset appetites, according to Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman.

The pension, with about $13bn in assets, has invested $40m in mezzanine funds managed by Merit and Peninsula. The pension came under its spending goal for private equity in fiscal ‘09.

The pension negotiated fee reductions with Fisher Lynch before agreeing to commit $500m, using its Private Partnership Investment Principles.

The Canadian pension’s goal is to shift its private equity portfolio to 80% direct investments from the current 35%. The pension has been a direct investor in infrastructure and real estate for many years through its Borealis Infrastructure and Oxford Properties direct investment teams.

A member of the pension said Gary Bland had been found to have pressured investment firms to hire certain placement agents.

The pension is backing Angeleno Investors III, which is raising $250m for investments in alternative energy and clean technology.

The London-based firm will use $1.6bn of cash to buy the latest assets being sold by the brewing giant to a private equity firm.

Leo de Bever, head of the C$70bn Alberta Investment Management Corporation, said money managed by external managers costs ‘nine times what it costs me internally’. The Canadian pension already invests directly in infrastructure assets.

The firms will pay C$8 per unit for the company, which provides custom brokerage, transportation and logistics services.

The pension, which fired Aldus Equity in May, has a 10% target allocation to private equity.