Unigestion secondaries fund closes on target – exclusive

Unigestion, the Swiss boutique asset manager, has hit final close on its latest secondaries fund.

Unigestion Secondary Opportunity Fund IV closed on its €300 million target in late December, the firm confirmed. It had been in the market since April 2016, according to data from Private Equity International.

Like its predecessors, USO IV seeks transactions at the smaller end of the secondaries market, focusing on small and middle-market funds, fund restructurings, secondary direct portfolios and structured deals.

It is targeting a net return of 1.6x cost and a 20 percent internal rate of return, Secondaries Investor reported when the fund’s €177 million first close in late August 2016.

Investors in the fund include Cumbria Local Government Pension Scheme, which committed €30 million, and North East Scotland Pension Fund, according to data from Private Equity International.

USO IV’s target is considerably higher than its predecessor, the €180 million Unigestion Secondary Opportunity Fund III, because the firm now executes most of its deals from one main fund rather than through separately managed accounts, Unigestion’s head of investment management Paul Newsome told Secondaries Investor on first close.

In February 2017 Unigestion acquired Swiss counterpart Akina Partners, which had €2.3 billion under management, following an almost year-long takeover process. The two teams are working on their own funds with their existing client bases, Secondaries Investor understands.

In August 2017 Akina Partners surpassed the €225 million target on its second dedicated secondaries fund, Secondaries Investor revealed, and expressed the intention of hitting its €300 million hard-cap.