Fundraising

Blackstone is on track to reach $20bn for its latest flagship secondaries fund, having nearly achieved its target in the space of a quarter.

The Darien, Connecticut-based alternatives manager has raised more than $1 billion over its initial target.

While GP-led deals managed to retain their dominance over LP deals by a thin margin, both halves are poised for continued growth this year.

The Madrid-headquartered asset manager excluded the fund's GP commitment from its hard-cap on the back of strong late demand from German LPs.

The Munich-headquartered manager's first dedicated secondaries fund targets small and mid-sized opportunities on an LP- and GP-led basis.

Portfolio Financing Fund II does preferred equity- and NAV-based lending deals for funds in the private equity, real estate and infrastructure markets.

The partnership will see secondaries market veterans and former Coller Capital investment professionals Sebastien Burdel and Luca Salvato join in London and New York, respectively.

Evoco has raised €162m to acquire portfolios of companies in the European lower-mid-market, with a particular focus on German-speaking countries.

In the absence of market mammoths, firms raising for once-niche strategies such as concentrated-asset deals and preferred equity populated this year's list.

Few secondaries firms remain independent after a glut of M&A transactions this year.