Rakesh Saraf is building a new and significant private capital program for the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (ATRF). But just because the figures involved will be large, don’t expect a long list of GP relationships to materialize.
Saraf, interviewed by Privcap on the sidelines of the recent CVCA Annual Conference in Vancouver, says he is looking to forge roughly 12 GP relationships over the next 10 years and put some $3 billion in capital to work in the private equity and infrastructure asset classes.
He expects these relationships to be two-way streets. “It’s not something [where] we give you money and then the manager forgets us,” he says. “Very often we’ve seen that in the industry. The GPs come around once in a while or once in five years when they’re raising money. I’ve had GPs who’ve called me and said, ‘I’m in Calgary, do you want to come and meet me,’ not even realizing I’m in Edmonton.”
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Guide to Privcap’s conversation with Rakesh Saraf
00:20 What private capital allocation goals has ATRF set for itself? “Currently we have very little invested, but over a period of the next 10 years, we hope to invest about $3 billion in these asset classes.”
00:40 How interested are you in backing funds versus direct investments? “On the private infrastructure side, I think the tables will be reversed.”
1:08 Where in the world would you like to invest? “We definitely want to cover the global landscape.”
1:37 Do you expect your fund managers to bring you co-investment opportunities?
2:21 Please talk about the genesis of the ATRF private investment program.
2:38 What do you look for in a fund manager? “We are not going to run a heavily diversified program. . . All told I expect to have a dozen relationships on a global basis.”
3:49 What other allocation models did ATRF look at to design your program? “I could run a very direct book competing with all the GPs in the world, but then I’d need to staff up 30 or 40 people, and if I want to do that on a global basis, God bless me.”
5:25 What do you expect from your infrastructure portfolio?
About Rakesh Saraf
Saraf is Portfolio Manager, Private Investments at the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement fund. His prior activities include as an independent consultant at Saraf & Associates; senior vice president and head of private equity at Alberta Investment Management Corporation, and CEO of Stratcap Securities Private. He was educated at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, University of Madras and the Institute of Corporate Directors at University of Alberta.
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Privcap provides high-quality programming to participants in the global private capital markets. In addition to its current commentary and podcast offerings, Privcap is developing video series covering important investment themes and practices in private capital. Contact Privcap at admin@privcap.com
