Preqin Blog

There has been considerable growth in the number of active private real estate fund managers in recent years, despite the tough fundraising environment. For the 2013 Preqin Investor Network Global Alternatives Report, Preqin identified more than 1,700 private real estate firms globally, including managers of both closed- and open-ended funds. As of April 2013, there were 386 fund managers managing… Read More

The initial public offering has long been a key exit route for fund managers, both in the private equity buyout space and venture capital. However, there have been contrasting trends in the prominence of IPOs as an exit type for buyout and venture capital fund managers. In 2012, 67 venture capital-backed IPOs were completed globally with an aggregate value of $22bn, compared to 54 buyout-backed IP… Read More

It has been reported that Italian insurance company, Assicurazioni Generali, is looking to exit a number of its private equity commitments via a secondary market transaction. The company is believed to be selling a portfolio of fund interests worth an approximate €500mn. It is believed that a majority of the portfolio in question is comprised of leveraged buyout funds. Assicurazioni Generali … Read More

Within the region of Latin America, Brazil accounts for the largest proportion of private equity activity. Currently, 77 private equity fund managers are headquartered in Brazil, according to Preqin's Fund Manager Profiles database. Collectively, these firms have raised an aggregate $16bn in capital over the last 10 years and have an estimated $7bn in available dry powder. Of the Brazil-based priv… Read More

Preqin's Real Estate Online service currently tracks more than 290 wealth managers actively investing in real estate. The majority (59%) of wealth managers investing in real estate are based in North America, which is unsurprising given the scale of the wealth management industry in North America relative to other regions. Just over a quarter (26%) of wealth managers active in the asset class are … Read More

Traditionally, the infrastructure debt market has been dominated by large banks with balance sheets able to cope with the rigour and scale of infrastructure debt provisions. However, with the incoming capital adequacy requirements of BASEL III, banks are being pushed out of the infrastructure debt sector, allowing non-traditional lenders such as fund managers into the space. Preqin is currently tr… Read More

Distressed private equity, which consists of distressed debt, turnaround and special situations vehicles, has been an increasingly prominent area of the private equity sector since the start of the financial crisis in 2007. Since then, many investors have looked to gain a foothold in the distressed private equity market as credit markets have remained tightened towards both companies that are unde… Read More

On average, private equity funds are taking longer to reach a first close, according to Preqin's Private Equity Spotlight - May 2013, but the proportion of capital secured by the first close has not increased to compensate for this, with 6% of funds that held a final close in 2013 securing more than 75% of their target by the first close. So far in 2013, of the funds to reach a final close, 108 he… Read More

Preqin’s early hedge fund benchmarks show that average returns have just managed to remain in the positive, with hedge funds posting 0.5% on average in April. This brings the average year to date return to 3.67%; however this is down on the same period last year, when hedge funds returned 5.61%. All strategies were down on the previous month, with multi-strategy vehicles once again the worst… Read More

While core funds remain the most widely targeted strategy by Europe-based investors, the proportion of real estate investors targeting core funds has fallen from 71% in Q3 2012 to 60% in Q1 2013. Investor appetite for opportunistic, distressed and debt funds has increased in the same period. However, Europe-based investors are more likely to be targeting lower-risk strategies than those based in N… Read More

Preqin’s Funds in Market shows that there are currently 158 private equity fund of funds vehicles on the road seeking investor commitments. Collectively, these vehicles are targeting $41bn and have so far secured $10bn in LP commitments. Over a quarter (27%) of funds of funds in market have already reached their first close, and an additional 20% have held at least two interim closes. In ter… Read More

Leveraged buyout deals in which a private equity-owned company is sold to another private equity firm are known as secondary buyouts, or sponsor-to-sponsor deals. Preqin's Buyout Deals Analyst shows that 2012 was a record year for private equity-backed secondary buyouts in terms of the number of deals in the period 2006 to present. Additionally, 2012 witnessed the highest aggregate deal value obta… Read More

The economic uncertainty in the eurozone has contributed to a challenging fundraising market for Europe-focused real estate funds. In 2012, an aggregate €6.3bn was raised by 35 Europe-focused vehicles, a decline from the €8.5bn garnered by 37 funds in 2011, and less than one-third of the €22.5bn raised by 119 funds in 2007. Fundraising has remained slow in 2013, with €600mn rai… Read More

Preqin's Fund Managers Profiles service shows that there are currently 153 fund managers headquartered in the Benelux region. These firms have collectively raised approximately €22.9bn over the past ten years, and there is an estimated €7.9bn available in dry powder to these firms for investment. Of these fund managers, the majority are based in the Netherlands, with 88 firms raising app… Read More

Preqin’s Infrastructure Online service is currently tracking 30 unlisted infrastructure funds managed by firms based in Latin America, which consists of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Of these 30 funds, 20 have already reached a final close, raising an aggregate $4.8bn in investor capital. There are currently 10 unlisted infrastructure funds managed by firms in Latin Ameri… Read More

Over the past month, there have been a number of senior investment professional moves among US institutional investors. Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS), for example, announced that its private equity director, Lamar Villere is leaving to join his family’s money management firm, Villere & Co. Mr. Villere had been directing TCRS’s private equity investments since 2009… Read More

Following on from the $11.2bn final close of Warburg Pincus Private Equity XI on 10th May 2013, the largest balanced fund to launch and close since January 2008, this blog will explore the balanced funds currently in market. Balanced funds invest across all private equity investment stages. According to Preqin's Funds in Market service, there are 18 balanced funds in market targeting an aggregate … Read More

Annual solely debt-focused private real estate fundraising has generally experienced a downward trend since 2008. Preqin's data shows that in 2008, 32 debt-focused funds closed on an aggregate $10.8bn. In 2009, fundraising for solely debt-focused funds decreased significantly, when 17 funds closed having raised an aggregate $6.4bn. 2010 saw a further decline, with debt-focused fundraising reached … Read More

The private equity fund of funds manager Adams Street Partners has held a final close for its latest dedicated secondaries vehicle, Adams Street Global Secondary Fund V. The fund's final size is $1bn, the hard-cap target set by the manager, above the soft-target of $750mn. Adams Street Partners also has an additional $1bn available for secondary investments, from separate account mandates.  T… Read More

An overview of venture capital financings for European portfolio companies from 2008 to present shows that the majority of firms investing into the region are also Europe-based. Preqin’s Venture Deals Analyst shows that on average, 85% of investments into Europe-based portfolio companies involve European firms, with 12.6% involving firms based in North America, 0.2% Chinese, 0.1% Indian and … Read More

There are currently 64 private equity firms headquartered in Russia, according to Preqin’s Fund Manager Profiles Product. Collectively, these firms have raised approximately $11.6bn in aggregate capital commitments over the last 10 years and have an estimated $4.8bn of dry powder available to them for investments. The majority of Russia-based private equity fund managers are headquartered in… Read More

Preqin's Real Estate Online service is currently tracking more than 200 investment consultants which provide consulting services in the real estate space.The majority (69%) of investment consultants which provide real estate services are based in North America, of which 97% are based in the US. Twenty-six percent are based in Europe and 6% in Asia and Rest of World. Within Europe, the majority of … Read More

Preqin’s Infrastructure Online is currently tracking 96 active Nordic-based investors in the infrastructure asset class. This includes investors located in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. These Nordic-based investors have an average current allocation to infrastructure amounting to 3.3% of total assets, and an average target allocation of 3.9%. Of these 96 Nordic-based investor… Read More

Private equity investors have continued to make new commitments to the asset class in 2013, as demonstrated by the $117bn in investor capital raised by private equity funds that have held a final close since the start of the year.LPs’ target allocations to private equity have fluctuated over the past five years, having dipped between 2009 and 2011, and then gradually increased in 2012. Insti… Read More

Preqin's hedge fund performance benchmarks showed signs of improvements over March, with hedge funds posting an average return of 0.74% for the month, up from 0.14% in February. Event driven funds outperformed other strategies, with average returns of 1.27% in March. Across the first quarter, event driven funds were the top-performing strategy, posting 3.84% on average. Long/short funds also maint… Read More

Between 2006 and May 2013, Preqin’s data has seen a declining trend in Western European real estate fundraising. In 2006, 73 funds targeting Western Europe closed on an aggregate €119bn. These figures increased in 2007 when 87 funds closed after raising an aggregate €30bn. In 2008, 66 funds closed on a total of €20bn. The fundraising landscape for Western European real estate … Read More

An analysis of global venture capital investments by industry shows that in each year since 2008, the same industries have constituted the top five sectors in terms of the number of venture capital financings. The internet sector has seen more than 20% of the global number of venture capital deals in each year and has been the most common area for venture capital investment in every year except fo… Read More

In March 2013, French insurance company Groupama’s private equity unit was put up for sale following pressure from regulators to improve its solvency ratios. Groupama had a real need for liquidity and to offset large losses incurred by its holdings of equities and Greek sovereign debt. It was announced that ACG Group would be the buyer of Groupama Private Equity (GPE) and by the end of April… Read More

Private sector pension funds represent one of the most significant institutional investors in the alternative assets space. Preqin's Real Estate Online database has identified a total of 722 private pension funds that are currently active in the real estate asset class. Twenty-nine percent of private sector pension funds investing in real estate have less than $1bn in assets under management (AUM)… Read More

Preqin’s Fund Manager Profiles shows the amount of estimated global private equity buyout dry powder increased by 174% from $177bn in December 2004 to $485bn in December 2008. Since the end of 2008, estimated uncalled capital for buyout fund managers has fallen year on year to $355bn in December 2012, but has increased slightly to $366bn in available dry powder as of May 2013. North America-… Read More