Pengana flags private equity LIT launch
(Financial Standard, Karren Vergara)
Pengana Capital Group is working with a US$51 billion alternative asset manager to launch a global private equity listed investment trust next year.
Pengana enlisted the help of Chicago-based Grosvenor Capital Management to select investments for the soon-to-be ASX-listed investment trust. It invests in alternative assets such as hedge funds, private equity, real estate and infrastructure.
Grosvenor was chosen because it has a long track record of investing high-quality private equity managers worldwide, Pengana said.
It has investments in 650 underlying private market funds and participated in more than 200 direct and co-investment opportunities since 1999.
Pengana chief executive Russel Pillemer said: “We have had consistent feedback from clients that they are seeking exposure to global private equity investments however this asset class can be challenging for retail investors to access.”
Pengana believes private equity markets offer compelling investment opportunities and such investments should play a role in many investors’ asset allocation, he said.
Preqin’s latest research shows the alternative assets industry holds US$8.81 trillion in assets under management. This includes US$5.23 trillion in private capital and US $3.58tn in hedge fund assets.
North America and Europe-focused private capital funds hold the largest share of the private capital market and posted the strongest returns, Preqin said.
Separately, Pengana recently acquired a minority stake in boutique credit investment manager Global Credit Investment (GCI).
GCI is a specialist fixed income and credit investment manager with a bias towards investing in short-duration credit. It has deployed about $100 million in credit assets in Australia and the US, sourced from traditional non-bank lenders as well as fintechs.
It currently invests in senior and mezzanine debt in assets like short-term mortgages, small business loans, invoice finance, equipment leases, consumer installment loans and customer point-of-sale finance.
