Ventura County Pension Picks Up $75M Real Estate Loan Fund 

The $8.5 billion Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association (VCERA) approved a $75 million commitment to the VWH Master Fund IV. This decision aligns with VCERA’s strategy to enhance its globally diversified private credit program, which received $175 million in commitments during 2024. The recommendation came from NEPC and the investment fund staff. 

The VWH Master Fund, managed by VWH Capital Management, focuses on residential non-performing loans (NPLs) sold by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As a minority and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE), the fund gains access to smaller, less competitive loan pools that are exclusively available to MWBEs and community-based, non-profit organizations. The firm is targeting $1.25 billion in assets for the new credit fund. 

VCERA committed $50 million to VWH Master Fund III in 2022. VWH Fund III has produced a 19.9% net IRR, and a net multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of 1.27x as of the third quarter of 2024. VWH Fund I and II are in harvest periods with net IRRs of 10.5% and 12.3% as of the third quarter, respectively. 

As of 2024, the pension fund has $681 million allocated to private credit strategies, which generated a return of 10.8% during the year, according to monthly performance reports. However, the strategy is currently 2% below its 10% target allocation.