Hamilton Lane secures Asian support for global secondaries fund

The firm said that commitments from Korean investors to Hamilton Lane Secondary Fund V were double the amount received in the previous vintage. It declined to give specific percentages. Asia is also becoming more prominent in secondary deal flow, with a 50% increase in 2019-2020 over the preceding two-year period.

“We are thrilled to have a larger fund with increased allocation to Asia, which is maturing into a very attractive secondary market with a range of complex transactions beyond the traditional LP interest,” Juan Delgado-Moreira, vice chairman for Asia Pacific at Hamilton Lane, said in a statement.

The latest fundraise continues the firm’s run of increases with each vintage. When Fund IV closed at $1.9 billion in 2017, it was more than twice the size of its predecessor and the largest-ever secondaries vehicle raised by Hamilton Lane. That mantle has now passed to Fund V, which had a target of $3 billion.

Commitments came from pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and other financial institutions from the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel, as well as from Asia.

“We believe the growth of our secondary business, and in particular the interest in this latest fund, is an indication that the opportunity set driven by the Hamilton Lane platform is really resonating with the market,” said Tom Kerr, a managing director and global head of secondaries at the firm, in a separate statement.

After hitting a record $85.4 billion in 2019, global secondaries volume came to $20.2 billion in the first half of 2020 – down 56.1% year-on-year – as the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic played havoc with valuations. A total of $12.6 billion was transacted in the traditional fund secondaries space, while direct secondaries volume reached $7.64 billion. Private equity fund secondaries alone fell 60.5% to $10.1 billion.

Most industry participants expect a sharp rebound in 2021, noting that valuations improved between June and September of 2020, suggesting a return to pricing stability. GP-led secondaries are identified as a potential bright spot for Asia as exits are pushed out and managers seek alternative ways to generate liquidity.

Hamilton Lane had $581 billion in assets under advisory mandates as of December 2020 and a further $76 billion under discretionary management. It offers private markets exposure across primary funds, secondaries, real assets, impact, evergreen, and direct credit and equity strategies. The firm’s Asia presence comprises offices in Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.

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• Topics
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• Hamilton Lane
• Secondaries