Commonfund hits hard-cap on third secondaries fund

Commonfund Capital has hit the hard-cap on its latest secondaries fund after around 15 months in market.

Commonfund Capital Secondary Partners III has raised $675 million in an oversubscribed fundraise, according to a statement from the Wilton, Connecticut-headquartered asset manager and consultant.

The identities of investors were not disclosed but include foundations, endowments, family offices, insurance companies and clients of registered investment advisers and consultants, the statement said.

Secondaries Investor reported in May last year that Fund III was in market targeting $550 million. It had raised $414 million by May 2021.

Commonfund’s 2017-vintage Fund II raised $450 million by final close in 2019, more than two-and-a-half times the amount collected for its 2015-vintage debut fund. Investors in that fund include Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis and The William Penn Foundation, according to Secondaries Investor data.

Speaking with Secondaries Investor last September, Commonfund managing director and head of secondaries Cari Lodge said she envisaged a record 2021 for GP-led deals as more sponsors try to hold on to their best assets. “If you go out five or six years, I think the secondaries market could easily double in size,” she said.

Commonfund offers outsourced chief investment officer business and investment management services to endowments, foundations and public pension funds. It targets smaller, less competitive LP portfolio- and GP-led transactions across private equity, venture capital and natural resources.

Secondaries funds that hit final close raised $39.8 billion in the six months to the end of June, according to Secondaries Investor data. This was down $13.7 billion year-on-year, yet still the second-highest half-year total recorded.