Goldman Sachs raises $7 bn to buy stakes

NEW YORK: Goldman Sachs Group Inc has collected more than $7 billion for a fund which purchases secondhand stakes in private equity funds, far exceeding its initial target, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The fund, called Vintage VII, is run out of the bank’s asset management division and had initially sought to raise $5 billion in capital.

Nearing its final close, the fund was oversubscribed and had to turn some potential investors away, one of the people said, asking not to be named because they are not authorised to speak to the media. The fund focuses on buyout and distressed strategies in developed markets. A Goldman spokesman declined to comment on the fund. In addition to its secondaries fund, Goldman has raised $7 billion for a traditional buyouts fund which is housed in its merchant bank.

Secondaries funds have become popular in recent years because they allow investors to place their cash across different markets and investment strategies without taking much concentrated risk.

Investors in secondaries may also see a profit sooner than in traditional buyout funds, as investments tend to be made in more mature funds.

Goldman’s last secondaries fund raised $5.8 billion in 2012 and generated a net internal rate of return of 14.4 per cent, according to an investor presentation.

Traditional buyout funds generate an average internal rate of return of 20 per cent, but their performance may be more volatile. — Reuters