Switzerland’s Multiplicity hires director for real estate secondaries

Multiplicity Partners, an investment firm, has appointed a former fundraiser as it eyes real estate tail-end interests.

Melissa Ackermann joins the Swiss firm’s private markets practice as a director, according to a statement. She will bolster Multiplicity’s deal-sourcing activities in real estate secondaries.

Ackermann has held capital advisory roles at New York placement agent Deer Isle Capital and MetLife Investment Management. She also served at commercial real estate brokerage firms CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield, covering leasing and investment sales transactions.

“We see substantial growth in real estate fund secondaries, particularly in tail-end interests,” partner and head of private markets Andres Hefti said in the statement. “[Ackermann’s]  experience and global network will help us address more deal opportunities in our focus segment, which is smaller deals in both niche private markets strategies and underperforming funds.”

Last year, the secondaries specialist bolstered its senior leadership team and transactional capacity by promoting Pirmin Stutzer to partner.

Limited partners could be better off selling tail-end fund positions than holding their stakes, even if they sell at a double digit discount, according to May research by advisory firm Upwelling Capital Group. The report found that private equity funds held for more than 10 years tend to deliver flat or declining returns.

The research, Watch Your Tail-End, looked at a data set containing as many as 1,496 US funds with vintage years 1998 to 2011.