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Aberdeen Standard secondaries teams combine under Knechtli

Patrick Knechtli, a partner with SL Capital Partners, is leading the merged entity's private equity secondaries business.

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Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life Investments have amalgamated their private equity secondaries teams under a leader overseeing the unit following last August’s merger.

The combined team, which is now part of Aberdeen Standard Investments and includes the infrastructure secondaries team at Standard Life’s private markets arm SL Capital Partners, is led by Patrick Knechtli, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

Knechtli, who was secondaries head at SL Capital, took up the role in January. He reports to global head of private equity Graham McDonald, who in turn reports to global head of private markets Peter McKellar, Secondaries Investor understands.

Aberdeen’s real estate secondaries business comes under the newly formed real estate division though they continue to collaborate closely with the private equity secondaries team.

Aberdeen Standard’s private equity secondaries capabilities comprise SL Capital’s three secondary opportunity funds, which have raised a combined $909 million since 2014, and Aberdeen’s secondaries team, which invests opportunistically in the strategy through separately managed accounts.

SL Capital closed its third secondaries fund in October, Secondaries Investor reported. SL Capital Secondary Opportunities Fund III raised $428 million, against a target of $400 million, to invest in niche areas of the market including stakes in funds of funds and secondaries funds.

SL Capital Infrastructure Secondary I closed in early 2015 on an undisclosed sum, Secondaries Investor reported.

The real estate secondaries team has been in the market with Aberdeen Property Secondaries Partners II since January 2017, seeking €400 million, according to data from sister publication PERE.

Standard Life and Aberdeen merged in August creating an institution with a private equity pot worth £28 billion ($37.8 billion; €31.9 billion), Secondaries Investor reported.

Aberdeen Standard declined to comment on developments at the secondaries team and Knechtli’s appointment.