Harbourvest Global Private Equity has released its interim results for the six-months ended 31 July 2015. These show the company had US$187m of realisations during the period (a record level) and is reportedly on track to meet the US$356m received during the last financial year. NAV per share increased 6% during the period from US$15.86 to US$16.84. The company says that growth was driven by ongoing liquidity events and increasing valuations. By strategy, the growth equity and buyout portfolios outperformed the early stage venture portfolios; by geography, Europe outperformed other regions.
During the period, the company committed US$329 million to newly-formed HarbourVest funds, including U.S. and international fund-of-funds, a global balanced fund, and a North American venture fund-of-funds. At 31 July, the Investment Pipeline of future commitments was $948 million.
In terms of outlook, the managers say that they are cautiously optimistic that the global private equity market can weather the major transitions underway, including rising interest rates in the U.S. and a shift to a more consumer-led economy in China. They say that the short term could experience more volatile equity markets, which may dampen asset prices and make IPOs more challenging, but the fundraising pipeline should remain strong following four consecutive years of distributions outpacing capital calls.
Harbourvest Global Private Equity sees record realisations in first half : HVPE