Private Equity’s Best and Brightest in Demand for New York Pension Fund and at Happy Hour in NYC

Oct. 17, 2011 - PRLog -- Private Equity Happy Hour New York City, http://www.PEHappyHour.com, , will congregate Tuesday October 18 the most interesting mix of professionals in the private equity world, for an evening of networking and cocktails. General partners, limited partners, and individual and institutional investors, among others, will be in attendance for the world’s best networking in the private equity community. Private Equity Happy Hour receptions are great opportunities for them to speak with unprecedented candidness about their trade, both opportunities and challenges.

Private equity has also drawn the attention of Larry Schloss, chief investment officer and deputy comptroller for pensions for the New York City employees’ pension fund. In a recent report from Bloomberg Businessweek, Schloss stated his intention to increase the city’s allocation in private equity to 6.5% from 4%, while using fewer firms, in pursuit of total returns of 8%.

The pension will sell about $2 billion in existing private- equity funds as it seeks to pare relationships to about 70 firms in the “top quartile” from 106 when Schloss joined the pension in January 2010, he said. The city will “write bigger checks” of more than $300 million, versus about $100 million on average to each fund before the overhaul, he said.
“When I got here, we had $12 billion commitments, $7.2 billion in the ground, 106 GP relationships and 162 funds,” Schloss said. “Our 12-year IRR was 6.8 percent -- not very good,” he said, referring to the internal rate of return.

The $41.8-billion New York City Employees Retirement System, whose 347,000 members are the most of any U.S. municipal retirement fund, aims to generate returns of at least 8 percent, Schloss said. Private-equity firms, which typically buy companies using loans secured on the targets and work to improve performance before selling them in five to 10 years, are a long- term commitment that offer potentially the highest returns, Schloss said.

“We have great expectations for private equity,” he said.
 Private Equity Happy Hour New York City is produced by Golden Networking (http://www.goldennetworking.net), the premier networking community for business executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Upcoming Golden Networking's Forums and Business Receptions include:

•   Private Equity Happy Hour New York (http://pehappyhour.com), October 19, New York

•   High-Frequency Trading Happy Hour Hong Kong (http://hfthappyhourhongkong.eventbrite.com), October 27, Hong Kong

•   High-Frequency Trading Happy Hour Singapore (http://hfthappyhoursingapore.eventbrite.com), October 27, Singapore

•   High-Frequency Trading Happy Hour London (http://hfthappyhourlondon.eventbrite.com), November 3, London

•   Hedge Funds Happy Hour New York (http://www.hfhappyhour.com), November 8, New York City

•   High-Frequency Trading Happy Hour New York (http://www.hfthappyhour.com), November 8, New York City

•   The Speed Traders Workshop 2011 Singapore, "The Present and Future of High-Frequency Trading" (http://thespeedtradersworkshopsingapore.eventbrite.com), November 13, Singapore

•   High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2011 Singapore, "How Speed Traders Leverage Cutting-Edge Strategies in the Post-Flash Crash World" (http://hftleadersforumsingapore.eventbrite.com), November 13-15, Singapore

•   The Speed Traders Workshop 2011 Hong Kong, "The Present and Future of High-Frequency Trading" (http://thespeedtradersworkshophk.eventbrite.com), December 12, Hong Kong

•   High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2011 Hong Kong , "How Speed Traders Leverage Cutting-Edge Strategies in the Post-Flash Crash World" (http://hftleadersforumhongkong.eventbrite.com), December, 12-14, Hong Kong

•   The Speed Traders Workshop 2011 Sao Paulo, "The Present and Future of High-Frequency Trading" (http://thespeedtradersworkshopsaopaulo.eventbrite.com), February 1, 2012, Sao Paulo

•   High-Frequency Trading Leaders Forum 2011 Sao Paulo, "How Speed Traders Leverage Cutting-Edge Strategies in the Post-Flash Crash World" (http://hftleadersforumsaopaulo.eventbrite.com), February 1-3, 2012, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Golden Networking has been frequently featured in the press, including recent articles in The Wall Street Journal, "Happy Hour for High-Frequency Trading", The New York Times, "Golden Networking Helps Job Seekers Make Overseas Connections", Los Angeles Times, "Speed-addicted traders dominate today's stock market", Reuters, "Revamp looms as trading experts huddle at SEC" and Columbia Business School's Hermes Alumni Magazine, "10 Under 10".