Firms & Funds

Lightsmith, formed by ex-Siguler Guff executive Jay Koh, pursues growth investments in businesses taking on the challenges created by climate change.

Ascend was founded in 2019 by In Seon Hwang, formerly global head of healthcare at Warburg Pincus, and Richard Park, ex-CEO of Warburg portfolio company CityMD.

The firm expects a final close in early 2021.

US and Canadian buyout, growth equity, secondaries, venture capital and other PE funds collected $200bn at the end of September, down 25% from the same time last year.

First-time fundraising is harder than ever. The first-timers who are attracting capital tend to be those who managed to build up LP relationships, and track records, while at bigger shops.

The $41.9bn endowment has made progress in growing its private equity portfolio while shedding older illiquid assets that have weighed on performance.

Rise Fund II is already larger than its predecessor, which closed in 2017 at $2.1bn, becoming one of the world’s largest dedicated pools for impact investing.

Arcline is part of a small group of newish managers braving the slow fundraising markets to raise new funds.

While many larger-cap PE firms have already sold stakes, mid-market private equity is ripe with opportunity.

The GP-led process centred on Hightower Advisors is one of several large, concentrated processes in market as buyers make up for lost time.