Independently owned family office Stonehage Fleming has held the final close of the Stonehage Fleming Global Private Capital Fund 2016.
In conjunction with a number of new separate accounts, this takes the total the firm has raised for investment in private capital funds over the last 18 months to USD166 million.
The 2016 Fund is the first of a series of annual funds for the international family office’s new private capital programme. Each annual fund will invest in five to seven best-in-class managers which will provide underlying exposure to between 50 and 100 high quality portfolio companies.
The programme seeks to offer its clients access to top-performing segments of the private capital markets together with a focused portfolio and accelerated deployment. The programme’s portfolio construction aims to significantly lower the risk profile for its clients compared with many of the alternatives. Additionally, by deploying 50 per cent of the fund at inception, the programme will capture the benefits of the private markets from day one and avoid the initial negative returns and cash flows typically experienced by private equity investors in the early days of their portfolio.
Stonehage Fleming has invested a total of over USD1.5 billion of private capital since 2001. The 2016 Fund will continue the team’s primary investment strategy of focusing on the small and mid-market segments across globally together with a secondary focus on technology and opportunistic investments.
Richard Clarke-Jervoise, partner, Stonehage Fleming, says: “Stonehage Fleming has a track record in helping wealthy entrepreneurs and families with private capital investment. Our private capital programme, starting with the 2016 Fund, is designed to overcome structural shortcomings associated with the asset class. This includes high minimum investment amounts, significant additional layers of fees, lack of transparency and the lengthy time periods required to fully deploy capital. These factors can deter families and wealthy private investors who have little or no existing experience of private capital investment. Stonehage Fleming also makes it possible for best-in-class small and mid-market GPs who do not have the resources for a dedicated family office team to access a new and growing investor audience.”
Graham Wainer, CEO and head of investments, Stonehage Fleming, says: “Private capital is a key part of the Stonehage Fleming investment proposition and we are extremely pleased by the strong support from both new and existing investors for this strategy. The successful close of the Stonehage Fleming Private Capital Fund 2016 is a testament to the experienced team and an endorsement for the unique benefits of our approach.”
