Gopher seeks more direct investments

The Shanghai-based fund of funds expects to increase direct investments with its China-focused GPs to boost revenues.

Gopher Asset Management, a fund of funds manager in China, is set to increase its co-investment and direct investment ratios within its private equity portfolio.

In its latest earnings call on Monday, Kenny Lam, president of the group’s parent company Noah Holdings said, Gopher aims “to further strengthen its own investment capabilities, leverage its relationship with Chinese GPs, and increase its co-investment and direct investment exposure”.

Gopher’s private equity funds portfolio reached 81.3 billion yuan ($12.4 billion; €10.4 billion) through the year ended 30 September 2017, increasing 59 percent over the same period last year. Private equity took up the lion’s share or 57 percent of its total holdings. Real estate made up 8 percent; secondaries, 4 percent; credit, 28 percent; and other investments accounted for 3 percent.

Gopher invests across telecommunications, media and technology (TMT), healthcare, consumer, and internet finance companies. It has backed funds managed by Legend Capital, GSR Ventures and Qiming Venture Partners, the firm said on its website.

The firm is also ramping up its overseas investments, Lam said, adding that “investing overseas helps hedge domestic fiscal economy risk and should be important part of Chinese high net worth and individual assets”. Gopher’s foreign holdings reached 19.8 billion yuan as of the end of the third quarter of this year.

Gopher established offices in Canada and Australia this year where it expects to distribute its products to ultra-high net worth individuals. The firm is also an active investor in US venture firms, having set up its first US outpost in Menlo Park, California last year.

NYSE-listed Noah Holdings, Gopher’s parent company, is China’s largest wealth and asset management platform with total assets of 142.9 billion yuan as of end September this year.