TMRS Taps Yuri Lee to Lead Global Venture Capital Strategy

Key Takeaways

Geography: United States.

Analysis

The Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS), a $44 billion pension fund, has appointed Yuri Lee as its new Head of Venture Capital, effective July 14, as it accelerates efforts to expand its innovation-led investment strategy.

Lee will be tasked with architecting and scaling a world-class, multi-billion-dollar global venture and growth equity portfolio. Her appointment underscores TMRS’s ambition to partner with visionary founders and top-tier VC firms worldwide.

Prior to joining TMRS, Lee served as a partner at IVP, where she spent two years investing across late-stage technology companies. Earlier, she worked at Morgan Stanley’s technology investment banking team and gained entrepreneurial experience by launching the multiplayer game “Arena of Kings,” which amassed 30,000 users while she was still in finance.

Yup Kim, TMRS’s Chief Investment Officer, announced the hire via LinkedIn, describing Lee as a “builder” and “innovator” uniquely suited to lead TMRS’s next phase of venture investing.

As of March 31, TMRS had allocated 14.5% of assets to private equity, aiming for a target of 20%. The portfolio has consistently outperformed benchmarks, returning 9.88% over one year, 6.22% over three years, and 16.05% over five years.

TMRS’s venture strategy focuses on fund commitments, secondaries, and co-investments across VC and growth equity, with typical allocations ranging from $25 million to $125 million per commitment.

The appointment signals TMRS’s commitment to long-term innovation and growth by aligning with high-performing venture ecosystems globally.