Neuberger Berman Japan, Korea PE commitments top $1b

The company had approximately $31 billion in alternative assets under management for institutional and individual investors as of June 2014. The overall portfolio of investments across equities, fixed income, private equity and hedge funds was worth $257 billion.

"We are excited to have such a remarkable milestone and we would like to express our gratitude to our high-quality group of institutional investors that partnered with us on various private equity investment opportunities over the past 10 years," said Ryo Ohira, managing director and head of East Asia at Neuberger Berman, in a statement.

The firm employs more than 120 people in Asia and works with sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies, and private and retail banks in the region. Earlier this year, Clifford Chiu, who previously led KKR's Asia fundraising efforts, joined Neuberger Berman as a senior advisor to help develop the firm's client base.

Korea and Japan are increasingly targeted by private equity investors raising funds. Depending on resources, mandate and appetite for risk, these LPs may enter a fund directly or opt to go through a fund-of-funds or separate managed account.

The National Pension Service of Korea and Korea Investment Corporation are both ramping up their exposure to private equity while the likes of Korea Post, Korea Teachers' Pension and insurers such as Samsung Life and Hanwha Life are part of a growing second tier of LPs showing an interest in the asset class.

In Japan, financial institutions, private sector pension funds and asset managers have been investing in private equity for years, but the industry is waiting to see if the public pension segment will follow suit. The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) recently entered the infrastructure space and is considering a move into private equity. Other funds are also reviewing their asset allocations.

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• Topics
• Fundraising
• LPs
• North Asia
• Neuberger Berman
• LPs
• Fundraising
• Japan
• South Korea