HPS, Crescent Capital win Korean pension fund’s $100 mn PDF mandates
Sep 12, 2016 (Gmt+09:00)
The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) will commit $50 million to U.S.-based HPS Investment Partners and Crescent Capital Group each for overseas private debt investments, about a year after the South Korean pension fund picked two private debt fund houses to invest €60 million in Europe.
The commitment, announced on September 6 on GEPS’ website, reflects growing interest among South Korean investors in North America-focused PDFs as tightened financial regulations in the United States has led companies to turn their eyes on private loans, rather than lending from financial institutions. The Police Mutual Aid Association, a South Korean savings fund, is also scouting for a PDF manager.
“We selected managers that meet pension funds’ management philosophy of consistent management, rather than those that posted one-time outstanding performance,” a GEPS source told the Korea Economic Daily.