NPS adds APG, IFM Investors, Thoma Bravo as managers in Q4

The National Pension Service (NPS) has entrusted funds to three overseas alternative investment firms newly hired in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the pension fund's quarterly report on overseas alternative management firms on Feb. 26.

Dutch pension manager APG and Australia-based investment management firm IFM Investors were added to the South Korean pension fund's pool of 38 overseas infrastructure managers, while US-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo joined the group of 63 private equity investment managers.

In October 2020, the world's third-largest pension fund NPS partnered with APG to co-invest in Europe and Asia. APG is the biggest pension fund manager in the Netherlands, managing almost 570 billion euro as of the end of January 2021.

Last year, the NPS and APG jointly invested in Portugal’s toll road operator Brisa Auto-Estradas de Portugal S.A. They also made a 50:50 investment in Australia’s largest student housing operator, Scape Australia.

IFM Investors, specialized in global infrastructure assets, manages about $116 billion worth of assets as of the end of last year. The Australian PE firm and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board recently acquired Enwave Energy Corporation, a Canadian integrated energy firm. IFM Investors also acquired a stake in the Spanish energy giant, Naturgy Energy Group.

Thoma Bravo is one of the top three US investment firms focusing on the tech sector. Last year the NPS committed around $100 million in Thoma BravoFund XIV.

The NPS has mandated 162 firms for overseas alternative investments: 63 PEFs, 54 real estate investment firms, 38 infrastructure investment companies, and seven hedge fund houses.

As of December last year, the NPS has injected around 90.7 trillion won ($81 billion), or 10.9%, of its total operating assets into alternative investments.

Write to Jung-hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com
Danbee Lee edited this article.