The mercurial nature and uncertainty of the markets in 2020 left many industry observers wondering how public pension plan allocators would approach commitments to private markets funds in 2021. Crossing the midpoint of the year affords us the opportunity to pause and look back at how it has progressed in terms of private equity fundraising while also looking to the future to see what the rest of the year may hold for fundraising GPs.
After 2020, which saw London-based CVC Capital Partners take top spot for capital raised from US-based pension plans, data through the mid-year mark of 2021 from eVestment shows that interest in European fund managers and strategies remains robust.
As of 6/30/2021 the plans tracked by eVestment had reported 2021 commitments of over $10.3 billion to European strategies. Interest in the continent is spurred in part by pension plans seeking differentiated strategies from the crowded and frothy US market and more positive outlooks from consultants.
African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), one of the largest and oldest general partners on the African continent, has selected Market Lens to boost their private markets strategy and address their LP investor intelligence needs.
Katey Bogue, Head of Private Fund Solutions at Nasdaq, recently sat down with Kasper Wichmann, an experienced LP investor for a wide ranging conversation about communication in the private markets.
In June 2021 public pension plans reported $6.45 billion in commitments to private equity funds according to data tracked by Nasdaq eVestment. The total represents 111 commitments from 37 pension plans. June was the third highest month for commitments in 2021 trailing March ($10.8 billion) and April ($9.0 billion).
Each quarter State of Michigan Retirement System issues a Private Equity Review that provides a deep dive into the pension plan’s PE portfolio. In this article will highlight some of the major takeaways from the document and discuss why Market Lens users value the insights found in the review.
Real-time data on how pension plans are committing capital for private fund managers offers valuable insight into how the market is trending, what strategies are popular with investors, and which of their competitors are finding fundraising success.
While keeping tabs on recent commitment activity is valuable intel for GPs, forward-looking insights give fund managers actionable data points. Knowing the LPs with clear intentions to commit to their strategies can serve as the foundation for planning and executing a successful fundraise.
Each new fundraising environment brings new challenges for fund managers. After contending with the challenges of virtual fundraising of 2020, GPs are now navigating a market of hybrid fundraises and stiff competition from firms launching new strategies and other coming back to market faster in order to take advantage of LP demand for private markets exposure.
As US-based pension plans strive to put capital to work in the private markets, one area has increasingly come into focus as a destination for new commitments: their home states.
Historically, an overwhelming percentage of capital invested in private funds has flowed to companies located in a short list of states: places like California, Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and Texas.
In an effort to change this dynamic and stimulate their local economies, state pension plans are increasingly issuing RFPs for in-state investment programs.
What will the introduction of retail capital mean for the private fund industry?
In the twelve months that have passed since the U.S. Department of Labor’s June 2020 announcement clarifying and confirming that 401k plans could deploy capital to the private markets, retail capital has been top of mind for investor relations and business development teams across the private markets industry.