Korea Post commits to Hamilton Lane, HarbourVest, Goldman Sachs

Korea Post Insurance, with invested assets of $44 billion, committed $100 million apiece to Hamilton Lane and HarbourVest Partners in November, an investment officer from Korea Post Insurance confirmed with PDI on Tuesday.

The firm allocated $300 million to offshore private equity and private debt via three commitments as of end-November.

For the private credit strategy, it committed as much as $100 million to GS Mezzanine Partners VII as it targets a net internal rate of return of 10 percent per annum and above.

Goldman Sachs had raised $3.8 billion for its GS Mezzanine Partners VII as of end-October, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Korea Post Insurance also committed $100 million apiece to Hamilton Lane and HarbourVest Partners in November as it sought global multi-asset fund of fund managers.

Concern on pricing continues to affect its asset allocation planning for 2018.

Asked whether Korea Post Insurance plans to increase its exposure to private investments in the mid- and long-term, the investment officer said: “We plan to allocate further to small and mid-sized private equity with a minimum commitment size of $50 million apiece via both commingled funds and co-investment opportunities.”

“We are not planning to allocate further to large-cap buyout strategies next year as we think the pricing is too high,” he added.

In terms of private credit strategies, Korea Post Insurance plans to commit over $200 million apiece via separately managed accounts and $100 million via fund of funds, he noted.

The organisation currently allocates 1 percent of its assets under management, totalling $44 billion, to private equity and private debt investments. Its global private equity investment team oversees both private equity and private debt.

Korea Post started investing in offshore private markets in 2014.