The ACCESS Pool – A Collaboration of Central, Eastern and Southern Shires composed of 11 local government pension schemes, with assets totalling c.£52bn – has appointed Adams Street Partners (“Adams Street”) and HarbourVest Partners (“HarbourVest”) as its Private Equity Allocators.
Adams Street and HarbourVest will oversee a multi-vintage programme whereby Authorities will have the ability to commit to vintages on an ongoing basis over the term of the mandate. Each vintage is expected to be globally diversified, with investments across primary funds, secondary funds, and co-investments.
For the first five vintage years of the mandate, it is anticipated that the aggregate size of the annual commitments to both Adams Street and HarbourVest will be an average of c.£500 million or more each year. Considering the potential ultimate scale of the mandate, it is anticipated that total assets across all vintages for both Allocators could exceed £4-6 billion, based on potential asset growth, and/or increases to individual Authorities target allocations.
The appointment of our two private equity allocators followed a competitive tender in April 2024, carried out as a two-stage restricted procedure, and follows recent allocations by the Pool to other areas of the private markets, including to infrastructure, social affordable housing and impact real estate.
ACCESS recently announced its intention to establish its own FCA authorised investment management company. Efforts are underway to develop the investment team which will be responsible for portfolio management, oversight capabilities and enable to pool to provide further value for money and the economies of scale that the Pool has delivered thus far.
Cllr Mark Kemp-Gee, Chairman of the ACCESS Joint Committee, said: “This marks the third phase of our private markets programme that has seen ACCESS steadily add private markets assets into its investable universe, the latest being a significant commitment to private equity through two market-leading investment partners in Adams Street and HarbourVest. Our scale and assets have grown to the point where the Pool is harnessing the benefits of being able to invest in private equity at a much lower cost, and hope to reap the diversification benefits and potentially higher returns than on traditional assets.”
“We are deeply committed to the trust bestowed upon us by the ACCESS Pool,” said Jeff Diehl, Managing Partner & Head of Investments, Adams Street Partners. “Adams Street’s disciplined approach and half century of private equity experience will support ACCESS’s current goals while cultivating enduring value for all of their stakeholders.”
Emily Archer, Managing Director, Investor Relations, HarbourVest Partners, said: We are delighted to draw upon our deep history of private equity investing on behalf of the LGPS to serve ACCESS Pool pension savers and deliver risk-adjusted returns on a long-term and sustainable basis. This exciting mandate harnesses the benefit of the ACCESS Pool’s scale to create sophisticated and flexible investment solutions appropriate to the needs of the Authorities. Through our dynamic and collaborative partnership with the ACCESS Pool we look forward to achieving excellent outcomes for its pension savers, now and into the future.”
The appointment of our two private equity allocators followed a competitive tender ran by Hampshire County Council’s Strategic Procurement Team and Apex Investment Advisers in April 2024.
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