Private Advisors holds $275m final close

Private Advisors has held the final close on its latest secondaries fund after 20 months in the market.

The oversubscribed Private Advisors Secondary Fund V hit its hard-cap of $275 million, the firm said in a statement, exceeding its target of $200 million. It will invest in small single fund interests and structured deals and has a maximum deal size of $25 million.

Investors in the fund include pension plans, endowments, foundations, family offices and private banks.

The fund formally launched with outside investors in June 2016.  By December 2017 commitments to the fund totalled $197.8 million, Secondaries Investor understands. New Jersey-based NYLIFE Distributors and New York-based Berchwood Partners acted as placement agents, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Chris Stringer, president of Private Advisors, said: “There have been significant inflows to mega secondaries funds, while small market flows have remained relatively consistent. This fund is focused on small transactions and, more specifically, on opportunities where our broad platform and collective experience in the small company market can provide a sourcing or information edge.”

Private Advisors expanded into secondaries in 2012 through the acquisition of Cleveland-based Cuyahoga Capital Partners’ investment advisory business. It took over the responsibility of investing Cuyahoga Capital Partners IV, a $134.8 million secondaries fund.

Fund V is the first secondaries fund the firm has raised since the acquisition.

Private Advisors was founded in 1997 by Lou Moelchert, the former chief investment officer of the University of Richmond Endowment Fund. The firm has $4.6 billion in assets under management across private equity, secondaries, real assets, opportunistic and special situations credit and long/short equity, according to its website.