Chart of the Week: Private equity secondaries on the rise

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Seondaries fundraising reached a seven year high in 2014 collecting $25 billion; more capital collected than any other year post financial crisis. The number of funds that closed year-on-year have been relatively similar, showing that there is a consolidation of capital.

More than half of the capital was collected from the top two secondary funds of 2014; AXA Secondary Fund VI and Strategic Partners Fund VI securing $9 billion and $4.4 billion respectively. The former is the largest ever secondary fund to close with commitments from Chartered Accountants’ Benevolent Association (CABA), RAG Stiftung and Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System.

In 2015, there are only four funds that have closed to date, aggregating to $829.01 million. The largest fund, Pinebridge Secondary Partners III, fell short of its $500 million target raising $307.98 million. However, there are many funds currently in market that are set to close this year, including Lexington Capital Partners VIII with a target of $9 billion. There are also many other large funds in market including Partners Group Secondary 2015 and Pantheon Global Secondary Fund V.

More and more LPs are looking to invest into secondary funds. Haringey Council Pension Fund committed £20 million to Pantheon Global Secondary Fund V at its March meeting. San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association has also approved a $25 million commitment to SL Capital Partners’ Secondary Opportunities Fund II.