Carne Group (Carne), the European third-party management company and provider of fund regulation and governance solutions for the asset management industry, and WTW, a global institutional investment solutions firm, as the investment manager, said today (15 October) that they have gained regulatory approval for the launch of a private equity-focused Long Term Asset Fund (LTAF).
The new fund, named the CG WTW Private Equity Access LTAF (CG WTW PEAL) will offer institutional and professional investors dedicated exposure to private equity primarily through co-investments, allowing them to invest in a range of opportunities.
This comes following regulatory approval by the FCA, after the fund’s proposed launch was first announced in April 2024, Macfarlanes LLP (Macfarlanes) provided legal advice to Carne and WTW. Carne Group’s UK authorised Fund Manager will act as the fund’s Authorised Corporate Director (ACD).
CG WTW PEAL is the first private capital evergreen, semi-liquid LTAF launched by WTW which has further plans for other solutions to follow for savers across the UK, Europe and internationally. WTW has a successful track record of investing in private equity, for its institutional client base.
The fund across Europe has approximately $850m of client interest to-date. LifeSight, WTW’s defined contribution (DC) pensions master trust with 420,000 individual members, has agreed to allocate up to 5% of its LifeSight Equity default fund into private equity.
WTW believes that private equity investments, which offer strong illiquidity and skill premia, provide a great way to help savers maximise long-term returns from private markets and an obvious place for long-term illiquid DC asset strategies to start.
The launch of the new private equity LTAF supports broader industry initiatives to better align the long-term investment needs of many end investors, including DC pension savers, and invest into private equity assets that have historically been difficult for DC and private investors to access.
Mark Stockley, chief business development officer at Carne, said: Carne and WTW’s LTAF represents a significant milestone in the opening up of private equity to UK pension savers. We’re delighted that Carne continues to be the partner of choice for bringing these innovative products to market.”
Ben Leach (pictured), head of private market solutions in WTW’s Investments business, comments: “Seeing this dedicated private equity fund launch come into fruition is a proud moment for WTW as a business. We look forward to seeing the benefits this will bring to end savers looking to grow their wealth through allocations to the asset class.”
Lora Froud, investment management partner at Macfarlanes, added: “Having been heavily involved in designing the LTAF framework, Macfarlanes is pleased to have acted as a legal adviser to WTW and Carne on this important fund launch. Exposure to private equity will hopefully improve returns and diversification for members and reduce volatility in their portfolios.”
