OMERS VC Arm Launches Euro-Startup Fund | Chief Investment Officer

The venture capital arm of a Canadian pension plan has launched a new European fund geared toward tech startups.

OMERS Ventures, which invests for the $70 billion Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, created the long-only €300 million ($339 million) fund to capitalize on the rising growth in region-based startups.

“We have seen the European tech sector reach escape velocity over the past couple of years, producing more and more companies of worldwide renown,” said Damien Steel, OMERS Ventures’ managing partner and head of ventures.

The VC arm of OMERS will invest between €5 million and €10 million in companies during two funding rounds. The Euro-project will be run out of the pension fund’s London office.

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“As the next step in our global expansion strategy, we are now committing dedicated capital to the continent’s most innovative startups because we believe the best is yet to come,” Steel said.

The firm has also added Harry Briggs and Tara Reeves, two entrepreneurs-turned-investors, to its roster. Briggs, now a managing partner, comes from Balderton Capital, and co-founded health drinks company Firefly Tonics, which he sold to Langholm Capital. Reeves, also a partner, co-founded car-sharing marketplace Turo, and joins from LocalGlobe.

Tags: OMERS, OMERS Ventures, start-ups, Tech, Venture Capital

Britain’s Brunel Pension Partnership has completed one of its manager searches.

German asset manager Quoniam and Robeco, a Dutch manager, will handle the £30 billion ($34 billion) local government pension pool’s Low Volatility Global Equities portfolio. The fund is starting with £400 million, but Brunel expects it to grow to £600 million.

The portfolio wants to invest in long-only stocks that aren’t as prone to rapid price fluctuations, essentially creating a low-risk environment, according to Mark Mansley, Brunel’s chief investment officer. “We aim to achieve long-term returns through exposure to the low-volatility factor and our managers’ skill,” he told CIO.

Quoniam and Robeco will divide their responsibilities evenly. Mansley said the organization was impressed by the “clarity” of the managers’ investment processes and the three firms’ aligned values.

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“For this search, two particular areas we were interested in were understanding how managers address risk of valuation bubbles in low-volatility strategies, and their use of ESG considerations to help further reduce risk,” said Mansley, who added that the organization received 50 inquiries for the selection, many of them “high-quality” candidates.

The search took a few months to complete.

After a brief pre-registration period, Brunel officially launched an active manager search for its “flagship” $2.6 billion global high alpha fund earlier this month. The inquiry ends on April 3.

The firm also selected FundRock Management to run its fund structure last June. Once it meets regulatory and risk management requirements, Brunel tackles the investment management, with direct decisions then falling on its managers.

Brunel is one of the UK’s eight local government pension plans. It combines the retirement assets of 10 funds (Avon, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Environment Agency, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, and Wiltshire).

Brunel Readies Manager Search for New Global Equity Fund

Tags: Brunel Pension Partnership, Low Volatility Global Equities Portfolio, Pension, UK