Two Public Pensions Anchor Morgan Creek's New $40 Million Venture Fund

Two public pension funds are dipping their toes into the world of crypto venture capital.

"As far as we know, nobody has raised money from a public pension," Anthony Pompliano, partner at Morgan Creek Capital, told CoinDesk in an interview.

Morgan Creek, an asset manager focused on institutional clients and family offices, announced Tuesday a new crypto-focused venture fund with $40 million invested.

The two public pensions anchoring the fund are Fairfax County, Virginia's Police Officer's Retirement System and Employees' Retirement System.

Speaking to the conservative bent of those involved, the new fund's investors also include a university endowment, a hospital system, an insurance company and a private foundation.

As of their most recent financial statements, the police pension fund has $1.45 billion in assets, while the fund for Fairfax government employees has $4.25 billion.

The size of the two funds helps to illuminate the potential of bringing public pensions into blockchain investing.

Morgan Creek's new fund will primarily make seed investments in equity, Pompliano explained, though in certain limited cases it will also invest in token-based projects that don't create equity opportunities but do have cash flow.

The fund has already closed deals in some of the most established names in crypto, including Coinbase, Bakkt, BlockFi, TrustToken, Harbor and Good Money, among others.

Morgan Creek's new fund will primarily seek opportunities in equity, but it's open to some small number of security token opportunities that provide cash flow, so long as they fall under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulation D, which allows a smaller company to sells securities that are exempt from the larger filing requirements of a traditional public offering.