Morley Fund Management has announced plans to launch a new private equity fund of funds business, the Morley Private Equity Programme.
Morley Fund Management has announced plans to launch a new private equity fund of funds business, the Morley Private Equity Programme. The first fund, the 2008 Partnership, will be marketed to institutions and other investors seeking exposure to private equity, but not having sufficient assets to justify investing through a traditional segregated account.
The team behind the Morley Private Equity Programme currently manages GBP1.2bn of private equity investments for Aviva, and includes veterans of private equity fund of funds investing with a combined experience of more than 50 years.
‘This is another example of Morley packaging its strong investment skills into new products for external clients,’ says James Tanner, managing director for distribution and alternatives. ‘The pooled structure will open up access to our investment capability for small and medium-sized pension schemes with assets of over GBP150m, and will complement Morley’s existing segregated investment programme.
‘The power behind this proposition is the real strength we can demonstrate in this area, with a performance track record of 32 per cent per annum over the past 16 years. In Morley’s private equity team we have a group of people with excellent credentials and we have combined this with an efficient and attractively priced fund structure.’
The programme will comprise a series of annual funds structured as limited partnerships that will enable investors to build a well-diversified portfolio. Each sub-fund will aim to achieve an absolute return via investment in unlisted securities through primary funds and co-investments. Investments will focus on Europe and the buyout sector.
Philip Pearson, deputy head of alternative investments, says: ‘Our market analysis indicates that there is a growing interest in private equity products because of the clear benefits of potential superior returns and diversification from a balanced investment portfolio.
‘Our aim is to help a wider range of institutions to access private equity investments through a flexible proposition that is priced competitively and provides the confidence that comes with a strong performance, a proven ability to select and access the best funds and an experienced team.’
Morley is the UK-based asset management business of the global insurer Aviva. Firms within the Morley group managed GBP168bn in institutional and retail assets at the end of June, including a range of alternative investment funds as well as retail funds marketed in the UK under the Norwich Union brand and in Europe under the Morley name.
