The Alternative Investment Partners Private Markets Team (AIP Private Markets), an investment team within Morgan Stanley Investment Management, has held the final close of two investment funds and related separate accounts, with aggregate capital commitments of USD1.9 billion.
This total includes commitments to the inaugural Ashbridge Transformational Secondaries Fund I LP and Private Markets Fund VII LP, the seventh instalment of the team’s flagship globally diversified private markets fund.
Since its inception in 2000, AIP Private Markets has focused on providing innovative client solutions within less-efficient areas of the private markets. The team leverages its broad network and expertise in primary fund commitments, secondaries and co-investments to identify opportunities which because of size, complexity or time-sensitive nature may be overlooked or avoided by other market participants.
Ashbridge Transformational Secondaries Fund I seeks to invest in complex private equity secondary transactions providing the opportunity to acquire uniquely positioned assets with high quality, well aligned general partners. These transactions often come in the form of lifting specific assets from existing private equity vehicles in order to position these companies for continued growth under the stewardship of the incumbent general partner.
“We believe our differentiated approach to sourcing and structuring investments will enable us to buy great companies at attractive prices without utilising substantial leverage. The investment opportunity in transformational secondaries is especially compelling as we believe it allows us to maintain this discipline and to identify the most promising investments in both robust and challenging market conditions,” says Nash Waterman, Managing Director, Co-Head of Secondaries.
Private Markets Fund VII, like its predecessors, seeks to invest opportunistically in a range of primary funds and co-investments that are diversified by strategy, geography, industry and vintage year.
“We are grateful for the strong show of support from our investors and their continued trust in our ability to deploy their capital wisely,” says John Wolak, Head of AIP Private Markets. “We believe our fundraising success is a direct result of listening attentively to our clients’ evolving needs and responding with solutions that provide exposure to attractively positioned and well-vetted private equity assets.”
Commitments to each strategy were received from a diverse group of private and public pensions, corporations, insurance companies, foundations, family offices and high net worth individuals around the world. A significant percentage of capital was raised from previous investors in one or more of the team’s private markets funds.
