Goldman Sachs returns with Vintage VIII – exclusive

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is returning to market with its eighth flagship secondaries fund, becoming the latest in a line of big firms to tap investor appetite for the strategy.

The New York-headquartered firm is targeting between $6.5 billion and $7 billion for Goldman Sachs Vintage Fund VIII, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The precise launch date of the vehicle is unclear.

Goldman’s predecessor fund Vintage VII has backed a number of high-profile deals so far this year. In April it partnered with Coller Capital on a €1.5 billion GP-led process on Nordic Capital’s 2008-vintage Fund VII, while in July it bought around $1.7 billion of private equity stakes from Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, one of the larger portfolio sales this year.

Vintage VII smashed its $5 billion target to raise $7.12 billion in July last year after just over a year in market, according to PEI data. Investors in the fund include Minnesota State Board of Investment.

In April Secondaries Investor reported that the co-head of Goldman’s Vintage funds Steve Lessar and managing director Konnin Tam would be joining BlackRock to help the asset manager build up a secondaries business.

Goldman’s return to market means the top five firms in Secondaries Investor‘s SI 30 ranking, based on the amount of dedicated secondaries capital raised by firms between 1 January 2013 and 30 June 2018, are all fundraising.

Ardian and Lexington Partners are targeting $12 billion for their latest flagship vehicles, Coller Capital $9 billion and Strategic Partners $8 billion, Secondaries Investor has reported.

In its H1 2018 Secondary Markets Survey, advisory firm Evercore found that buyers intend to raise $77 billion during the second half of this year and the first half of 2019.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman declined to comment on fundraising.