Pensions

The USS sale marks the latest sizeable LP-led portfolio that Partners Group has backed in recent months.

More LPs are considering secondaries sales as pricing has strengthened since last year, with high-quality buyout funds capturing pricing at the 90% or higher net asset value range.

The deal is part of a wave of LP secondaries driven by fund investors’ desire to get proceeds from older funds.

The system has not yet finalised a contract with a secondaries adviser.

Ballast is led by managing partner Jon Popielarski, a former director of private assets at Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island.

Secondaries Investor reported in December that the Canadian pension giant had teamed up with Lexington Partners to lead the transaction.

The $19.1bn system looks to become the latest public pension to change rules to allow flexibility.

Many limited partner institutions either have used the secondaries market to sell fund stakes, or are ready to hit the market with sales as soon as pricing hits the right level.

The system recently changed its policy to allow for quick commitments to continuation funds.

LP portfolio sales led volume last year, clocking in at an estimated $60bn out of a total of $115bn, according to PJT Park Hill’s full-year volume survey.