Private Equity Spotlight November/December 2006 / Volume 2 - Issue 11
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Private Equity Spotlight November/December 2006 / Volume 2 - Issue 11 Welcome to the latest edition of Private Equity Spotlight, the monthly newsletter from Private Equity Intelligence, providing insights into private equity performance, investors and fund raising. Private Equity Spotlight combines information from our online products Performance Analyst, Investor Intelligence and Funds in Market. FEATURE ARTICLE page 01 No. of Funds on US Europe ROW Fund of funds have grown from a Road small niche in the early 1990's to a key Venture 199 88 95 382 tool for accessing private equity. Fund Buyout 109 54 36 199 of funds are now the biggest single Funds of Funds 73 47 11 131 category of investor in private equity Other 114 29 29 172 funds, and are especially important investors for emerging managers and first-time funds. We examine how the Total 495 218 171 884 market has changed. PERFORMANCE SPOTLIGHT page 04 INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT page 09 Fund of funds offer their LPs the prospect of diversification as The favourable market and difficulty of getting allocations for well as the potential for enhanced performance through top quartile funds has led to increased LP interest in superior selection of underlying funds. We examine the emerging managers and first time funds. We look at LPs investing in these funds. evidence looking at the track record of fund of funds compared to direct funds. • How do LPs perceive first-time funds? FUND RAISING page 05 • Are their commitments increasing to these types of funds. Fund-raising remains strong. Since the start of the year 533 • Who is making the most significant investments? funds have raised over $343 billion in aggregate commitments. In addition to buyout and venture funds we also examine the INVESTOR NEWS page 11 fund raising market in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region, which has been enjoying a strong year. All the latest news on investors in private equity: • Zurich launches ZAAM • Teachers Retirement System of Texas hires new CIO SUBSCRIPTIONS • Arizona State Retirement System seeks new private equity If you would like to receive Private Equity Spotlight each month advisor for its maiden investment into the asset class. please email [email protected]. Subscribers to Performance Analyst and Investor Intelligence receive additional information not available in the free version. NEW If you would like further details please email [email protected] The 2007 Fund of Funds Review Publisher: Private Equity Intelligence Ltd More information available at: Fleet House, 8-12 New Bridge Street, London. 4V 6AL www.preqin.com/FOF Tel: +44 (0)207 822 8500 • PERFORMANCE • INVESTORS • FUND RAISING …fund of funds has grown from a small, niche investment into an Private Equity integral part of the private equity Spotlight universe Feature Article: In 1996 just over $1bn was raised by fund of funds managers globally, with firms such as Abbott Capital Management, and Pathway Capital Management closing their first vehicles to offer investors access to a wider portfolio of private equity funds. Early investors included foundations and endowments such as of funds managers, with an aggregate allocation to private the Dana Foundation and Regents of the University of equity of approximately $500bn. This figure includes in house California. Public pension funds were also investing, with Contra fund of funds programs from managers such as Alpinvest, which Costa County Employees' Retirement Association committing to manage fund of fund structured products for a limited captive Pathway’s first ever vehicle. client base. Ten years on and fund of funds has grown from a small, niche In order to evaluate investment patterns amongst fund of funds investment into an integral part of the private equity universe, managers we examined the specific investment focus of over providing institutional investors of all types from around the 500 fund of funds vehicles over the last five years that are globe access to the private equity market. In 2005 an aggregate actively or recently investing. The investment preferences and $24bn was raised by over 70 fund of funds achieving a final practices of fund of funds managers serve as an excellent close, with managers providing access to a variety of different barometer for investor appetite in underlying funds. Investor regions and fund types. demand for specific fund types and regions influences the focus of fund of funds vehicles, and also the overall size of In the 2006 Limited Partner Universe, a publication examining commitments that they are able to garner. and listing the top global investors in private equity funds, fund of funds emerged as the leading source of capital for new As shown in Fig. 1, of those funds that cover a balanced portfolio private equity funds, accounting for 38% of global assets of investments the average fund make-up was dominated by allocated to private equity, nearly double that contributed by the buyout commitments – which make up 51% of the average fund next largest investor group (public pension funds). Investor of funds. 37% was dedicated to venture, leaving 12% for other Intelligence, our online LP database, identifies 257 active fund fund types such as mezzanine and special situations. The 01 © 2006 Private Equity Intelligence Ltd. / www.preqin.com November/December 2006 Private Equity Spotlight average geographic focus shows that the US market is managers indicated that they definitely invest, or would consider collecting the most in fund commitments from fund of funds investing in a first time fund, and 10% indicated that they would managers, with 50% of the overall market. European allocation invest in a first time vehicle only if the vehicle was a spin off. is 37% on average, and Rest of World focused funds, principally Markedly higher figures than for active investors as a whole. in Asia and Australasia make up the remaining 13%. As private equity fundraising as a whole has escalated In order to satisfy the demand for investors wishing to gain dramatically year on year since 2003, fund of funds have exposure to a more specific market, there are also a number of maintained a relatively steady level of fund raising over this multi manager vehicles that invest overwhelmingly or entirely in period, with the average fund size consistently around $300mn one specific fund type or region. Of all the funds examined in our over the past 3 years. study 47% stated a specific fund type focus (where 90% or more of the fund of funds was dedicated towards a single fund type), One area of the fund of funds market that has undergone quite and 58% of funds were focusing on one specific region – the substantial growth is amongst firms introducing vehicles most popular being the US. focusing on emerging regions. With the growth of interest in markets such as Asia and Eastern Europe, there exist more Although conventional fund of funds vehicles focus opportunities for firms to offer multi manager vehicles as predominately on committing to new funds, they often have investors without expertise in these regions seek to gain small allocations to secondary funds and direct investments. exposure. It is also likely that fund managers raising traditional The secondary market has become more competitive of late, fund of funds may increase their allocation towards these newer but it is still possible for fund managers to take advantage of markets, but looking forward the biggest change in the industry some excellent opportunities from investors seeking to sell their could well be an increase in the number of fund of funds existing fund commitments. Along with direct investments, focusing exclusively on opportunities in these regions. secondaries provide further means of diversification for LPs in fund of funds, and including such investments in a portfolio can It appears that traditional fund of funds are never likely to to an extent negate the effects of the j-curve, and potentially undergo the same boom in aggregate commitments as other improve overall performance. fund types such as real estate and buyout. Relatively few new fund of funds firms are being established, and those that do find Our analysis shows that 65% of active fund of funds have some it relatively challenging to raise capital (of the 54 funds closed to allocation towards either secondary fund purchases, direct date in 2006, only 4 are first time funds). However, fund of funds investments or both. As fig. 2 shows, of the fund of funds market will remain a key source of capital for the industry, and should as a whole, 83% of investments are made into new funds, 11% be high on the target list for firms raising capital – especially consist of secondary purchases, and the remaining 6% into those firms with limited experience or track history. direct or co-investments. When making commitments 72% of Private Equity Intelligence Has Moved The above analysis is taken from the 2007 Fund of Funds Review which examines all apects of the fund of funds We are delighted to announce that Private Equity market: performance, fundraising, fund terms, LP Intelligence has moved to new and larger offices at: investors and fund of funds as investors - looking not only at firm preferences, but also profiling individual vehicles Fleet House, 8 – 12 New Bridge Street, themselves in order to provide the most extensive and London. EC4V 6AL comprehensive review of the industry ever undertaken. Tel: +44 (0)20 7822 8500 Fax: +44 (0)87 0330 5892 More details are available on our website at We hope that we may have an opportunity to www.preqin.com/FOF. welcome you at our new offices. 02 © 2006 Private Equity Intelligence Ltd. / www.preqin.com November/December 2006 2007 Fund of Funds Review The world’s most comprehensive guide to private equity fund of funds • Comprehensive profiles for over 200 fund of funds managers from around the globe including sample investments and detailed, individual investment plans for their most recent funds.