Hamilton Lane closes new credit fund on $435 mln

Hamilton Lane closed its annual credit fund on $435 million, surpassing its target by $185 million, or 74 percent.

Hamilton Lane Strategic Opportunities Fund 2017 will invest in credit assets that deliver regular cash yields, the firm said in a statement. The new fund is more than double the $210 million Hamilton Lane raised through the 2016 iteration of its fund, which held a final close last June.

“LPs are being thoughtful in their approach to credit, and the structure of this fund aims to deliver a high level of flexibility and optionality,” said Hamilton Lane Principal Emily Nomeir. Nomeir cited the firm’s private-markets survey, released in January, which indicated roughly two-thirds of the limited partners surveyed planned to increase their allocations to private credit.

“We saw that investor appetite reflected in the strong demand for the 2017 fund,” she wrote. LPs in the 2017 fund include a variety of pension funds, insurers, endowments, foundations, and high-net-worth individuals.

Hamilton Lane indicated a close was imminent in its first earnings call, held earlier this week. The firm raised $218.5 million in an initial public offering in March.

Action Item: More on Hamilton Lane: www.hamiltonlane.com

Dan Demeglio, race and sports book supervisor, cashes a 200-to-1 future bet for Doug O’Neill, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another, at the Primm Valley Casino in Primm, Nevada, on June 25, 2012. O’Neill won $20,000 for his $100 bet, which he made in February, that the horse would win the Kentucky Derby. Photo courtesy Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus