Fundraising

A new Illinois pension plan looks to build its private equity portfolio through a secondaries commitment.

Ballast is led by managing partner Jon Popielarski, a former director of private assets at Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island.

The final close of TPG GP Solutions will be one of the key pillars driving the firm’s growth in 2024, CEO Jon Winkelried said in its latest earnings call.

The RMB fund targets Chinese LPs and aims to hold its first close this year.

The firm also closed on $1.5bn and $900m for its latest VC and real estate secondaries vehicles, respectively.

The firm’s sixth secondaries flagship will be 'meaningfully' larger than its predecessor fund, according co-CEO Erik Hirsch.

Panelists say fundraising growth can boost bidders and cut pricing spreads.

The amount of capital raised for the strategy last year eclipsed the previous $101bn record set in 2020, data from Secondaries Investor shows.

The Blackstone unit previously raised $3.75bn for its third programme focusing on the asset class.

The secondaries giant's ASF IX launched in February 2022 and is seeking north of $20bn.