LP profile (LP Ranking ↗)

San Francisco Employees' Retirement System

Pension fund · San Francisco, United States

$32B assets under management2% to venture · ~$640M

Retirement and benefits administration for San Francisco employees

Website ↗

236 funds backed

Funds backed 236

Power Law funds backed 32

Direct holdings 0

Power Law #64LP Ranking · #31 of 121 pension funds

Background

Who San Francisco Employees' Retirement System is.

Where the institution came from, whose capital it manages, and how that capital is allocated — from Dealroom's LP research.

Historical Background

The San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (SFERS) was established following approval by city voters on November 2, 1920, and the California State Legislature on January 12, 1921.
Its origins trace back to a fund created in 1889 to support the families and orphans of firefighters and police officers.
SFERS administers both a defined benefit Pension Plan for active and retired members and a 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan.

Source of Capital

The system's capital is derived from contributions to provide pension benefits for the more than 74,000 active and retired public employees of the City and County of San Francisco.

Major Events

A notable development in the system's recent history involves its approach to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. Following a 2013 resolution from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors urging divestment from fossil fuels, the institution has since become a significant force in ESG-focused investing.

Allocation Strategy

SFERS allocates capital across a diverse range of asset classes, including public and private equity, private credit, real assets, and absolute return strategies.
The private equity portfolio is diversified across buyouts, venture capital, and growth equity.
For the 2025 fiscal year, the system is contemplating an allocation of up to $600 million for real asset investments.
The stated investment policy is to take a long-term perspective of capital markets with a strategic plan designed to lessen the impact of significant market downturns.

Sources

Fund commitments

The funds San Francisco Employees' Retirement System backs.

San Francisco Employees' Retirement System is a limited partner in 236 funds. 32 of them place in the Power Law Investor Ranking, and the best-ranked are shown here.

New Enterprise Associates

Bain Capital Ventures

Allocation

How San Francisco Employees' Retirement System’s fund book is spread.

The 236 funds San Francisco Employees' Retirement System backs, by where the manager is headquartered and how many funds that manager has raised.

Where those managers are based

By fund headquarters.

North America 16972%
Europe 3917%
Rest of world 2812%

United States 169 · United Kingdom 27 · China 10 · Hong Kong 6

How established those managers are

Managers grouped by how many funds they have raised. 67 emerging (three funds or fewer), 93 established — across the 160 of 236 with a fund history on record.

36 1

21 2

10 3

9 4

21 5-6

27 7-9

21 10-14

15 15+

Funds raised by the manager

Emerging · up to 3 funds Established · 4 or more

How San Francisco Employees' Retirement System stacks up

Other LPs.

Other pension funds in the Power Law LP ranking, closest to San Francisco Employees' Retirement System by combined power-law score — North America first, then the nearest worldwide.

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Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System

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Mayo Pension Plan

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Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS)

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IMRF

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$57B AUM 70 VC funds backed

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The Boeing Company Employee Retirement Plans Master Trust

LP rank #61 · United States

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LACERS

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$22B AUM 62 VC funds backed

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Agilent Technologies Deferred Profit-Sharing Plan

LP rank #67 · United States

$141M AUM 20 VC funds backed

Figures on this page are sourced live from the Dealroom next-gen API, joined with Dealroom’s cap-table dataset (estimated holdings) and the Power Law Investor Ranking. News in “Featured in” is drawn from Dealroom’s own coverage — the stories that name this investor, not only those it is the subject of. Market sentiment is omitted until the API exposes it.