West Virginia

The West Virginia Investment Management Board (WVIMB) has made one venture commitment so far in 2020 to an existing venture manager relationship.

The Charleston, West Virginia-based organization committed $20 million to Franklin Park Venture Capital Fund XIII, the group confirmed to Venture Capital Journal sister title, Private Equity International.

The venture fund of funds, formerly known as Franklin Park Ventures Series 2019, is part of the firm’s flagship fund series.

The fund plans to invest 70 percent of the capital into tech focused funds and 30 percent into life science vehicles, according to board documents from the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and previous reporting by VCJ.

The majority of the fund, or 70 percent, will go to early-stage players with the remaining 30 percent going to late-stage vehicles. The firm will invest half its capital into US-focused funds and half into global managers.

Fund XIII will invest in a mix of established and emerging venture firms and has relationships with such firms as Lightspeed Venture Partners, GGV Capital and S Capital, among others.

The fund has received $60 million from the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System and $12 million from the Montgomery County Employees’ Retirement System.

WVIMB has been investing with the manager across its private equity and venture strategies for more than a decade.

The pension system also invested in the 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2017 vintages of Franklin Park’s flagship venture series.

WVIMB targets a 10 percent allocation to private equity with a 0 to 10 percent allocation to venture capital within that. Venture made up about 15 percent of the private equity bucket at the end of Q1 and was worth more than $305 million.

Both are pooled together in a private market alternatives bucket which makes up more than 30 percent of the fund’s overall portfolio.

The West Virginia Investment Management Board was founded in 1997 and manages 27 different funds that span across teacher and service member pensions and wildlife endowments. The pension has more than $19.9 billion in assets under management.