Future Fund shops $1bn-plus portfolio – exclusive

Australia’s sovereign wealth fund is in market with a portfolio of fund stakes, six months after appointing a new head of private equity.

Future Fund, which has A$25.69 billion ($17.4 billion; €15.9 billion) in private equity assets under management, is shopping a portfolio worth more than $1 billion, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Secondaries Investor understands Greenhill is managing the process.

Private equity and venture capital managers the SWF invests with include Advent International, Bain Capital, Hellman & Friedman, Southern Cross Management, Adams Street Partners, New Enterprise Associates and Vitruvian Investment Partners, according to its website. The exact composition of the portfolio in market is not clear.

Future Fund’s private equity portfolio returned 11.5 percent in the year to 30 June, according to its latest annual report, released on Thursday. The fund has a 2 percent exposure to secondaries out of its total private equity and venture capital portfolio.

In March, Future Fund appointed Alicia Gregory to lead its private equity team. She was previously head of private equity at superannuation fund MLC.

In September, Future Fund’s deputy chief investment officer Wendy Norris said that the institution had exited around A$5 billion ($3.4 billion; €3.1 billion) of private markets investments in the last few years, in comments reported by Secondaries Investor.

“When assets become mature and the expected look-forward return has decreased, we look to sell them and redeploy the capital within the portfolio,” she said.

This included the sale of a portfolio worth around $1 billion to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in 2016, Secondaries Investor reported at the time.

Pensions and sovereign wealth funds accounted for 23 percent of secondaries transactions in the first half by transaction value, according to data from Greenhill.

Future Fund did not return a request for comment. Greenhill declined to comment.