In December, an entire team of investment specialists moved from Partners Group to asset manager Bellevue. Now the private equity specialists are launching their first fund with a global focus.

Having joined Bellevue in early December of last year, the former Zug-based Partners Group secondaries team is launching its first fund, Zurich-based Bellevue announced Tuesday.

«Our clear and distinct concept for the Bellevue global private equity fund sets us apart from competitors. We wholeheartedly embrace the notion that small is beautiful and therefore focus exclusively on a market segment that is not on the radar screens of many PE investors,» said Chris Davies, who joined Bellevue along with Steven Kroese and Lars Honegger, finews.com reported. 

Globally Focused

«Large private equity secondaries players do not even look into transactions in the $1 million to $30 million range, whereas we believe this particular market segment thrives with alpha-generating opportunities,» said Kroese about strategy. 

The fund is globally oriented, investing primarily in the US and Europe. With the strategy, the portfolio managers are aiming for a return comparable to that of primary buyout funds with a higher safety margin.

Act Quickly

Unlike public markets, access to deal flow and the right counterparties is critical to success in the secondaries market. The technological aspect plays another important role.

The use of quantitative financial modeling and valuation tools, combined with the systematic collection of a large number of data points, allows for more efficient and accurate analysis and bid calibration than average. This is critical to the team's ability to operate successfully and quickly in the secondaries market.

Increasing Liquidity Needs

The trio is joined by Jan Kollros, head of private markets at Bellevue and CEO of Adbodmer, which is part of Bellevue.

«Already today, interests in private equity funds are being sold in the secondary market for reasons that tend to reflect the liquidity needs of individual investors, for example, rather than the actual performance and quality of the underlying investments,» says Davies.

First-Class Opportunities

«This is a very favorable environment that offers us superb investment opportunities which will allow us to build a stable and diversified portfolio with great value potential,» Davies added.