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NEWS from the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Contact: Press Office 518-474-4015

Buffalo Business Delivers $9 Million Investment Gain To The State Pension Fund

December 16, 2014

AccuMED, a manufacturer located in Buffalo, has generated an estimated $9 million investment gain for the New York State Common Retirement Fund, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced today. The investment was made through the Fund’s In-State Private Equity Program, which is designed to make profitable investments in New York State-based companies.

“This investment in AccuMED is further proof that the In-State Private Equity Program is a win for the state pension fund and our local economies,” said DiNapoli. “Our investments in businesses across the state have returned hundreds of millions of dollars to the state pension fund and created jobs for local residents. Businesses and entrepreneurs in need of capital for growth should contact our office to see if they are a match for the In-State Program.”

The In-State Private Equity Program, designed to meet fiduciary standards and provide investment returns to the Fund consistent with the risk of private equity, has provided $293 million in returns on 71 exited investments. Since its inception, the program has invested $760 million in 292 companies.

AccuMED, an engineering services and contract manufacturing partner for major medical product companies, has offices in the United States, the Dominican Republic and Asia. The state pension fund invested a total of $9 million in AccuMED through two of the In-State Program’s 19 managing partners in 2004 (Trillium Group) and in 2006 (Hamilton Lane). Combined, the two managing partners have made six investments in Buffalo businesses for the state pension fund.

"Hamilton Lane is pleased to have supported AccuMED throughout its successful expansion. This sale not only results in an attractive financial return to the New York Common Retirement Fund, but it’s also another positive example of the promising businesses available in which to invest throughout New York State," said David Helgerson, managing director for Hamilton Lane.

More than $440 million is available for new investments through the program. For information, visit: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/pension/instate/

For a copy of the September 2014 progress report on the program, visit: http://osc.state.ny.us/pension/instate/Investing_in_NY_Report_2014.pdf

About the Common Retirement Fund

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli is trustee of the $176.8 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, the third largest public pension plan in the United States with more than one million members, retirees and beneficiaries from more than 3,000 state and local government employers. The Fund has a diversified portfolio of public and private equities, fixed income, real estate and alternative instruments and has consistently been ranked as one of the best managed and best funded plans in the nation. Over the past 20 years, 82 percent of the cost of benefit payments has been funded by investment returns. The Fund’s fiscal year ends March 31, 2015.

About Trillium Group, LLC

Trillium Group is a Rochester-based venture capital group with a primary focus on growth equity investment opportunities located in western New York. Trillium’s current portfolio consists of more than 20 companies in a broad range of industry sectors and businesses. http://www.trillium-group.com/

About Hamilton Lane

Hamilton Lane is an independent alternative investment management firm providing innovative private markets solutions to sophisticated investors around the world. The firm has been dedicated to private markets investing for more than two decades and currently has more than 225 employees operating in offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. With over $220 billion in total assets under management and supervision1, Hamilton Lane offers a full range of investment products and services that enable clients to participate in the private markets asset class on a global and customized basis. The firm has been named an Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Company and among the “Best Places to Work in Money Management” by Pensions & Investments. http://www.hamiltonlane.com