Energy and water management services provider Bright Power recently closed a USD24.5 million Series B capital raise in a round led by the BMO Impact Investment Fund and Generate Capital. This week, Private Equity Wire sat down with Michael Whelchel, co-founder and managing partner of Big Path Capital, a US-based investment bank that facilitated Bright Power’s fundraise, to find out more about what will be the hottest trends within impact investing in the next few years, as well as what links positive impact investments and profits.
Coller Capital and Ping An Overseas Holdings announced the closing of one of the world’s largest private credit secondaries transactions for a credit portfolio managed by Ping An, together with its subsidiaries – the main offshore investment and asset management platform of Ping An Insurance Company of China.
Meanwhile, the private equity secondaries market is seeing a sharp uptick in first-time allocations, according to a leading investment consultant, marking a sea change in fortunes for a once unloved asset class, Private Equity Wire’s Clara Dijkstra reports.
Private Equity Wire’s weekly podcast featured Thomas Ballard, CEO of Market Hill, where he outlined some of the dynamics surrounding digital transformation within the private equity space. Ballard explained what digital transformation actually means for private equity firms and what best practices look like when it comes to structuring efficient systems and new ways of working.
A paper issued by Manulife titled ‘Sustainable private equity and the new drivers of value creation’ showed that nearly four out of five (75 per cent) of LPs expect sustainability to drive investment decisions over next five years, while 66 percent of LPs see value creation as a leading driver of ESG.
The research on how private equity relates to sustainable investing also revealed that private equity firms are showing significant commitment to the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) – including six of the world’s top ten PE firms having signed up to its six aspirational principles, often referred to as “The Principles”.
A feature by Madeleine Taylor for Private Equity Wire explores the fact that local government pension schemes are increasingly choosing more expensive alternative investments, including private equity and infrastructure, which is raising the overall fees they pay to asset managers as pension funds seek out higher returns, diversification benefits, and lower investment risk. Read it to find out more.
Karin Wasteson
Editor, Private Equity Wire