Prior to investing for Wyoming’s pension plans, May ran his own hedge fund, called Deer Creek Capital Partners in Colorado, which is still registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It had gross assets of $2.9 million as of the latest regulatory filing.
As chief investment officer of 1888, May works out of the Denver area, while the family office’s principal office is in Kansas, according to public filings. May has taken some talent from Wyoming with him. He hired Jeffrey Straayer, who invested in private equity at the Wyoming Retirement System, according to Williams.
Starting in 2013, Straayer led private-market investing including co-investments, direct and limited-partner investments at Koch Industries, and in January last year he transitioned to portfolio manager of private markets for 1888, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Information is scant on the private deals the team has struck. A filing with the Federal Communications Commission in March 2015 shows that KFF Investments, a unit affiliated with 1888 Management, held a 22 percent indirect interest in X5 OpCo through a fund run by NewSpring Capital, an investment firm based in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
Other employees of 1888 have roles including an estate technology manager, investment analyst and portfolio manager, according to LinkedIn profiles.
One thing is sure: May has a lot of money to work with.
"He was an astute investor," Laura Ladd, chairwoman of the Wyoming Retirement System, said of May. "He helped organize the way we thought about risk."