Fort Washington Capital Partners Group (FW Capital) has held a final closing of its ninth private equity fund-of-funds, Fort Washington Private Equity Investors IX, LP, and its parallel vehicles.
FW Capital is the institutional private equity division of Fort Washington Investment Advisors which in turn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, part of the Western & Southern Financial Group. Established in 1888, Western & Southern Life has been investing in private equity since 1984. FW Capital is headquartered in Cincinnati (www.fwcapital.com).
Fund IX closed with $350 million of capital commitments in May 2017, $50 million above Fund IX’s original target of $300 million. Limited partners include private and public pension plans, university endowments, private foundations, insurance companies, family offices and high net worth individuals. According to FW Capital, approximately 90 percent of limited partner commitments to Fund IX came from investors who had previously invested in one or more FW Capital-sponsored funds.
FW Capital has been making private equity investments since 1999 and today manages more than $3.4 billion of capital commitments. Since 2003, FW Capital has raised nine fund-of-funds partnerships totaling more than $1.2 billion in capital. Five of FW Capital’s seven funds are among the top-performing partnerships in the industry, according to Cambridge Associates.
“We are very grateful for the continued trust and support of our investors and their consultants,” said Steve Baker, Managing Director and Head of Private Equity. “Exceeding our fundraising target for Fund IX in just over a year is a testament to our team’s track record, capabilities and strong relationships with our investment partners.”
Fund IX has been making commitments to private equity partnerships, purchasing direct secondary fund interests and participating in direct investments since its initial closing in 2016. “We are working on a number of promising opportunities from a robust pipeline of deals,” added Mr. Baker. Like earlier funds, Fund IX will make primary and secondary investments in a portfolio of specialized private equity funds that FW Capital believes exhibit an attractive investment strategy. FW Capital particularly focuses on small-market opportunities including smaller leveraged buyouts, growth equity, special situations and venture capital funds.
“The market for private equity remains strong,” said Mr. Baker. “We believe the asset class is a good option for qualified investors who would like exposure to smaller, high-growth companies. In addition, investors in Fund IX will have exposure to a broad array of industry sectors, including business services, health care, information technology and natural resources.”
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | June 20, 2017
