Border to Coast partners pledge £1 billion to private equity

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership has secured £1 billion of commitments to private equity investments.

The pool, which invests assets on behalf of 11 local government schemes, has completed £500 million of private equity investments from its first offering. The portfolio consists of 10 investments with nine managers, providing exposure to Border to Coast’s targeted themes within private equity.

The investments include $100 million with the Neuberger Berman Co-Investment Fund IV, which focuses on global, mid-market co-investment opportunities, and $70 million with Blackstone Life Sciences Fund V, which is centred around risk sharing with pharmaceutical and biotech companies on product development programmes.

Border to Coast has also secured a further £485 million of commitments from eight partner funds to its second private equity offering. These commitments are to be invested in the period to 31 March 2021 as part of a programme to provide a diversified global private equity portfolio over a three-year period.

Border to Coast chief investment officer, Daniel Booth said: “Private Equity is an important asset class for our partner funds, helping them to build a diversified portfolio, while delivering a return that isn’t directly correlated to equity market returns.”

The pool’s collective size has enabled it to access high quality investments that will allow partner funds deliver their strategic asset allocation strategies, he added.