CDPQ secondaries exec joins Canadian private equity firm

Patrick Lynch, head of funds and partnerships at Canadian pension fund manager Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, has joined private equity firm Fiera Comox as a partner.

According to a statement from the firm, Lynch will focus on all aspects of private equity, including direct investments and secondaries.

The firm aims to gives investors “access to a strategy based on the principles of the Canadian pension plan and sovereign wealth fund approach to private equity investment”, the statement noted. According to partner and chief executive Antoine Bisson-McLernon, this is defined as an approach based on a close partnership model.

During his two years at CDPQ, Lynch was responsible for managing the private equity portfolio, executing secondaries sales and building investor relationships, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Prior to joining the institutional investor he spent seven years as head of funds and global investment partnerships at Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company.

Montreal-headquartered Fiera Comox was formed in 2016 as a joint venture between Fiera Capital, an asset manager with C$125 billion ($97.3 billion; €82.7 billion) under management, and Comox Equity Partners, which was formed by three former executives from pension fund manager the Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

Fiera Comox was initially set up to invest in agriculture and has now added private equity to its remit with Lynch’s appointment.