Willowridge hires former Pomona executive Fang: Updated

Secondaries shop Willowridge Partners has hired former Pomona Capital executive Lawrence Fang as a principal.

Fang started at Willowridge on January 4, said Jerry Newman, who heads the firm.

Update: Fang also is a full member of the investment committee, Newman said Friday.

Fang worked at Pomona from 2005. It’s not clear when he left. Prior to Pomona, Fang was a financial analyst at AIG Global Investment Group, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Willowridge focuses on smaller secondaries deals. The firm has been in the market raising its seventh secondary fund, Amberbrook VII, targeting $450 million. Its prior fund, Amberbrook VI, closed on $400 million in 2012, Dow Jones reported. Performance information for Fund VI was unavailable.

Michael Bego, a partner at Willowridge, left last year and formed his own shop, Kline Hill Partners, to target smaller secondary deals. Kline Hill’s debut fund is targeting $120 million, with a $180 million cap.

Pomona, meanwhile, has been investing from its eighth secondaries fund that closed on $1.75 billion in April 2014. The firm in May launched Pomona Investment Fund, which is meant to give accredited investors access to private equity investing with a minimum $25,000 subscription.

Pomona lost a partner, Doug Kelly, sometime last year. Kelly joined Farol Asset Management as a partner.

Action Item: Reach Willowridge’s Jerry Newman at 212-369-2888.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock