Aberdeen secondaries fund on track for early 2021 final close

Denise Ko Genovese
19 November 2020

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Aberdeen Standard Secondary Opportunities Fund IV is slated for a H1 2021 final close, with more than half of its $500m target already secured, Unquote has learned.

The fund had an initial close in the second half of 2019 and has now raised well over half of its target of $500m, according to a person close to the situation. The fund is slated for a final close at the beginning of next year.

Aberdeen Standard Secondary Opportunities Fund IV was launched in December 2018. At the time, the manager said it would focus on less competitive areas on the secondary market in the UK and the US, looking for stakes in funds-of-funds, small-cap or mid-market primary funds, and secondaries funds, according to Unquote Data.

It targets mature funds that are at least 40% funded. Strategy-wise, the manager said it would consist of 40-60% buyout and 20-40% venture funds, as well as considering credit, infrastructure, natural resources and growth opportunities. It has a 10-year life cycle, extendable by three years, with a four-year investment period.

LPs committed so far include Finnish public pension fund Apteekkien Eläkekassa, Icelandic pension fund Söfnunarsjóður Lífeyrisréttinda, US public pension fund San Bernardino County Employees Retirement Association (SBCERA) and UK-based Cumbria Local Government pension scheme, according to Unquote Data.

The fund's predecessor vehicle was Secondary Opportunities Fund III (SOF III), which closed on $428m in 2017, ahead of its $400m target. It received commitments from 31 investors, according to a press release at the time. Prior to this, the manager closed SOF II on $291m in May 2015.