Triago: PE funds keep paying back LPs

A strong IPO and M&A market have helped private equity hit a distribution record, according to a report from global placement agent Triago.

PE funds distributed $359 billion from realized investments during the first nine months of this year, Triago said. This total outpaces last year’s record of $344 billion for all of 2013, the report said.

Fundraising is up with investors committing more than $48 billion in October alone, the quarterly said. The time GPs spent marketing has also dropped; funds spend an average 16.4 months on the road to secure commitments, the lowest level since 2011. First time managers are also having an easier time, closing on 11 percent of capital raised in third quarter, up from 6 percent in 2013’s fourth quarter.

Here are some other interesting items from the Triago Quarterly:

• Why LPs are investing large sums with a small group of favored funds.
• A record number of investors are scouring the secondary market for stakes in older, closed funds. Coller Capital estimates that 50 percent of LPs are looking to buy secondaries.
• Co-investments are on the rise and valued at about one-third of overall PE fundraising, said Triago, referring to Hamilton Lane figures. With this success, co-investments are now competing with GPs for deals.
• High net worth individuals, those persons with more than $1 million of investable assets, account for 10 percent PE capital raised so far this year. That’s up from 6 percent in 2008.

Read the report here

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