Goldman to hold first close on Vintage VII – exclusive

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) is preparing to hold a first close on its latest secondaries fund and had raised around two-thirds of the target as of late June, Secondaries Investor has learned.

The investment bank’s Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) unit had booked around $3 billion for Vintage VII, according to two sources familiar with the fundraising. The fund has a $5 billion target and was launched in May, as Secondaries Investor previously reported.

Vintage VII will focus on buyout and distressed strategies in developed markets.

The fund can invest opportunistically in small and large deals across traditional limited partnership secondaries to innovative and complex deals, according to a document seen by Secondaries Investor.

Vintage VII’s predecessor, a 2012-vintage $5.3 billion vehicle, attracted limited partners including John A Hartford Foundation, Utah State University and Surrey County Pension Fund, according to PEI Research & Analytics.

Increased fundraising and disruptive forces including active management, regulatory change, and fatigued, stressed and distressed investors are driving rapid growth in the secondaries market, according to the fund document.

Goldman Sachs did not return requests for comment.