Partners holds first close on 6th secondaries fund – update

The story was updated with spokeswoman’s comments regarding the size of the fund and when it launched.

Partners Group has held a first close on its latest dedicated secondaries vehicle, Partners Group Secondary 2015, in May on $1.5 billion, according to a spokeswoman for the firm.

The fund is targeting €2.5 billion and is looking to invest between €20 million and €100 million per transaction in the US, Europe and Asia, according to an investment document from the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) from March. PSERS has committed $100 million to the fund.

A spokeswoman for the firm said that the target for the fund is actually €2 billion and the fund was launched this year, although a UK regulatory filing shows the fund was registered in September 2014. It’s not clear whether PSERS has the target wrong or whether the firm lowered its target.

The spokeswoman declined to comment on whether any capital has been invested so far, or when the firm expects to hold a final close.

Limited partners in the fund are a mix of new and existing investors, she said.

Partners Group closed its previous dedicated secondaries vehicle, Partners Group Secondary 2011, in December 2012. The fund had a net internal rate of return (IRR) of 37.6 percent and a net return multiple of 1.44x as of March, according to the PSERS document. Investors in Partners Group Secondary 2011 include pension funds and insurance firms in the US, Europe and Australia, according to PEI’s Research and Analytics division.

Partners Group makes primary, secondary and direct investments in private equity, real estate and infrastructure, and invests in private debt on a primary and direct basis. In addition to dedicated secondaries vehicles, the firm uses allocations in its non-dedicated secondaries funds to make secondaries investments. It also manages separate accounts. Over 40 percent of its assets under management in the first half of this year were in mandates and customised programmes.

The asset manager received €3.8 billion in gross client demand during the first half of this year, bringing the total assets under management to €42.1 billion. Private equity was the largest asset class, rising to account for 56 percent of total assets, up from 45 percent a year earlier.