Union Square Ventures will bank on past performance

Connie Loizos reports over at peHUB that Union Square Ventures is about to begin raising its third fund. No target details were disclosed, although Fred Wilson would have some 'splainin to do if it was much bigger than the $156 million vehicle that closed in 2008 (USV really walks the "stick to your knitting" talk).

While we search for definitive details, this much is clear: USV will have absolutely no troubles raising the fund. UTIMCO, a limited partner in each of the firm's first two funds, recently sent over performance data through the end of August. It shows that USV I has an IRR of 55.87%, which is even higher than the 48.37% IRR reported through the end of May.

UTIMCO's data implies that USV hasn't yet returned initial Fund I cash (despite some rumors to the contrary), but is well on its way. The endowment's $22.25 million cash-in has been met with $14.29 million cash-out, plus a remaining portfolio value of nearly $55 million.

The only UTIMCO fund with a better IRR is The Foundry Group, whose 2007 debut comes in above 77 percent. USV's second fund (vintage 2008) features a -8.99% IRR, but can write that off to J-curve considerations (at least for now).

Here is the entire UTIMCO report: