Sweetwater Capital Partners, an investment manager formed by StepStone’s former secondaries head, has held an interim close on its blind-pool fund.
The Encinitas, California-headquartered boutique secondaries firm has raised $20 million for Sweetwater Secondaries Fund II, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission dated 6 November. On Monday it registered an offshore vehicle linked to Fund II which is targeting $35 million.
Secondaries Investor reported in May last year that Sweetwater was seeking $150 million for Fund II. It is unclear whether the firm raised a Fund I.
Sweetwater was formed in 2016 to make secondaries, directs and co-investments across venture capital, growth, buyout and infrastructure on a deal-by-deal basis, through tickets of between $5 million and $15 million, Secondaries Investor reported. The firm’s aim is to help less well-resourced limited partners such as smaller endowments and foundations gain exposure to private equity.
The firm was founded by James Gamett, a former partner at StepStone who also spent four years at Portfolio Advisors.
In June last year Secondaries Investor reported that Gregg Parise, founder of $350 million hedge fund Dorado Capital Management, was joining Sweetwater as a managing partner focused on sourcing and underwriting secondaries and direct deals.
Sweetwater did not return a request for comment.