Dan Primack

NYPPEX, a private equity secondaries exchange, has chimed in on a part of Chris Dodd's financial reform bill that could make life much more difficult for startups that raise capital from sources in multiple states. Read it after the jump:

The European Venture Capital Association recently surveyed 28 institutional investors, to learn possible consequences if the proposed EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive is instituted as currently written. The trade group found that "67% would either withdraw from venture and growth investment completely or substantially reduce their allocations (by over 30%)." Read the press release here.

Long before I knew the difference between a general partner and a limited partner, I was a Boston corps member with City Year. It's a nonprofit organization that served as the model for Americorps, and now mostly focuses on reducing the dropout rates in urban schools (back in 1994-1995, I was primarily involved in physical services like demolishing an abandoned crack house). In the years since, I've learned that private equity is an integral part of the City Year equation. Longtime board members include PE pros like Josh Bekenstein (Bain Capital) and Steve Woodsum (Summit Partners), and nearly 100 PE pros showed up last November for a City Year breakfast headlined by David Gergen. The latest example came this morning, when the UK-based Private Equity Foundation and TowerBrook Capital Partners announced that they are committing £1.42 million to help City Year launch a London corps.

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) has named Margot Wirth as its new head of alternative investments, peHUB has learned. The position had been empty since early last year, when longtime alternatives chief Réal Desrochers resigned. Wirth and Seth Hall -- both private equity portfolio managers -- had been serving as interim co-heads. Wirth originally joined CalSTRS in 2001, before which she was a valuation consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York and San Francisco. She also served as a vice president at an environmentally-conscious residential real estate developer in the Washington, D.C. area.

It's that special time of year, when corporate America turns a blind eye toward in-house gambling. That’s right dear reader, it’s time for our annual March Madness Extravaganza. The contest is open to all peHUB readers, with the top finisher to receive three prizes: (1) Premium Membership to peHUB, which includes one year of complimentary access to our editorial archive; (2) A complementary one-year online subscription to Buyouts or Venture Capital Journal; and (3) The opportunity to write a lead column for peHUB Wire, which could mean anything from an essay to a company advertisement to a plea for work. Get details after the jump...

I did a Reuters video hit yesterday about David Loglisci, the former chief investment officer for New York state's largest public pension fund, pleading guilty to his role in a pay-to-play scheme that involved private equity firms. Per usual, filming just a stone's throw from the home office:

David Loglisci, former chief investment officer for the New York Common Retirement Fund, has pled guilty to felony charges related to the state's pay-to-play investment scandal. He also has agreed to cooperate with the ongoing investigation. For the uninitiated, Loglisci was part of the scheme that included infamous "finder" Hank Morris. Here's how it basically worked: A private equity firm would seek business from NYCRF. Loglisci would direct them to Morris, saying he was a NYCRF "gatekeeper." Morris then would agree to work with the firm, in exchange for a commission on any fund commitment secured from NYCRF. It does not appear that Loglisci necessarily received a cut of the proceeds personally, but he did get to maintain his position of CIO (because Morris was a political ally of Hevesi). Plus, some PE pros invested in a film being produced by Loglisci's brother. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has scheduled a press conference for 11:30am ET, and we'll cover it as it happens (after the jump)...

Dafina Toncheva has joined Tugboat Ventures as a partner, after having spent the past two years with Venrock.

My weekly small biz video segment for Reuters, on a Canadian tax change that will benefit local startups by making it easier for U.S. VCs to invest:

My weekly video segment with Reuters Insider was about the SEC's proposed rule that would ban private equity placement agents from pitching their clients to public pension funds. The most recent development was a letter from the SEC to FINRA, suggesting a third path whereby FINRA-registered broker-dealers would be allowed to work with public pensions, so long as FINRA set new regulations to discourage pay-to-play activities. Per usual, we filmed from a tiny room just a stone's throw from the home office...