Moelis and Evercore boost PE advisory teams

New York firms Moelis & Co and Evercore have both announced additions to their private investment advisory teams.

Moelis & Co moved to fortify its private fund advisory capabilities with the appointment of former Credit Suisse banker Tim Fitzsimmons as a managing director. The group is a provider of capital raising, secondary and other advisory services to private equity fund sponsors and limited partners.

Rick Leaman, managing partner of Moelis & Co, said in a statement: “He brings extensive marketing and distribution experience as well as deep relationships with general partners and institutional investors from around the world. Our Private Funds Advisory business has significantly broadened the Firm's capabilities and has made tremendous progress since its establishment last year.”

Fitzsimmons brings 15 years of experience to his new position at Moelis spanning buyouts, growth investing, private debt and real assets, as well as four years of experience from Citigroup where he worked in its loan capital markets and investment banking groups. He will join four managing directors in the firm's private fund advisory business including Dave Brown, Patrick Dunleavy, Chris Kirsten, and Zaid Abdul-Aleem. Moelis established the private funds advisory group in June 2014.

Among the unit’s clients is Chicago-based Valor Equity Partners that closed its Valor Equity Partners III LP fund earlier this month oversubscribed at $490 million, exceeding its target of $350 million, according to an announcement. CalPERS is a limited partner of Valor Equity Partners III, according to the California pension fund's meeting minutes from March 2014.

A second firm, Evercore has added to its private capital advisory team with the appointment to managing director of real estate investment professional Nishant Bakaya from Akara Partners earlier this month, according to an announcement. Bakaya will assist the firm with advising both institutions and fund managers on real estate-related investment opportunities. Evercore established its private capital advisory group two years ago.

In February, another long time New York M&A specialist, Greenhill & Co., bolstered its exposure to private equity through its acquisition of secondaries specialist Cogent Partners for $97.6 million, as reported by Private Equity International.