Debut funds struggle to attract wary investors

First-time funds have been facing an uphill battle as investors pare down the number of relationships in their portfolios and focus increasingly on mitigating perceived portfolio risk

Monday 29 July 2013 at 17:00

UK mid-market private equity firm Blue Water Energy defied the weak maiden fund market when it closed its first fund at $861 million. Consultants and placement agents say first-time funds have been facing an uphill battle as investors pare down the number of relationships in their portfolios and focus increasingly on mitigating perceived portfolio risk.

Warren Hibbert, co-founder and managing partner of placement agent Asante Capital, which helped raise Blue Water's fund, said: "There's the old cliché that no one has ever been fired for re-upping with Blackstone [Group]. So why put your neck on the line to back a first-time fund?"