Private equity

Many public pensions face governance issues when considering continuation fund opportunities.

The $50bn US pension system backed off a planned secondaries sale after prices came in too low.

Northleaf collected $1.3bn – above its $1.25bn target – for its latest private equity-focused secondaries fund last year.

The firm’s $22.7bn haul this week comes at a time when institutional investors are assessing the opportunity cost of their investments.

Lexington Capital Partners X is more than 60% larger than its predecessor, which closed on $14bn in 2020.

A wider breadth of investors will take an interest in secondaries in 2024, market sources tell Secondaries Investor.

Continuation vehicles made up around 9% of total PE distributions in 2023 amid sluggish M&A and IPO markets, according to data from Baird.

Blackstone Strategic Partners tops the list with a record-breaking fundraising for its ninth flagship fund, which amassed $22.2bn.

Both LP-led and GP-led deals made it to the list this year as market participants seek innovative ways to access liquidity.

‘Much like covid variants, 2023’s challenges will evolve and expand as we head into 2024, and some might even abate.’