Generali launches fund-of-funds

Italian insurance group Generali has launched a fund-of-funds, committing €175m of its own money. The fund is to be managed by AMB Generali Private Equity. Ten insurance companies of the group, among them four French investors and Generali Austria, have committed to the fund.

AMB Generali Private Equity GmbH was founded in 2002 and initially only the German insurance companies of the Generali Group had the possibility of having assets managed by the private equity business.

Britta Lindhorst, managing director of AMB Generali Private Equity, said: “According to our plans, an annual amount of group funds amounting to €350m is to be invested in the private equity asset class.”

Currently, the company manages €500m of private equity assets. The long-term strategy is to build a portfolio representing at least 1% of the total investments of the Generali Group, which amount to about €270bn.

The long-term plan is to eventually open up the fund-of-funds to external institutional investors on a selective basis.

More than half of the investments made from the fund will be in Europe, of which a small part in Eastern Europe. In addition, investments will be made in the US. Advisors to the company are, among others, Switzerland-based Partners Group and US-based Hamilton Lane. In addition to buyouts, AMB Generali Private Equity will also invest in venture capital, mezzanine and secondaries funds.