Hamilton Lane closes largest raise at $8.4bn

Hamilton Lane announced the final closing of Hamilton Lane Secondary Fund VI with US$5.6 billion (AU$8.4 billion) in commitments, marking the largest fundraise in the firm's history.

Fund VI materially exceeded its original US$5 billion target, seeing strong support from a diverse group of new and existing investors, including corporate and public pension funds, Taft-Hartley plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, private wealth platforms and other financial institutions from over 30 countries around the world.

Financial Standard understands at least one sizeable Australian institution is also among the investors.

Hamilton Lane co-head of investments and global head of secondary investments Tom Kerr said the success of the fundraise represents a significant milestone for the firm.​

"The circumstances driving appetite for liquidity in the market continue to grow, and we are excited to sit in a compelling position with what we believe is one of the most experienced and cohesive secondary platforms," Kerr said.

"Fund VI is a continuation of our longstanding secondary franchise, and we continue our mission of seeking to find differentiated secondary opportunities at attractive inflection points where we have familiarity and a competitive angle."

​Hamilton Lane managing director on the secondary investment team Ryan Cooney said he was incredibly proud of achieving the largest fundraise to date and expressed his gratitude to the investors.

"Our high calibre investor base recognises us for our differentiated deal flow, large network of touch points and an analytical investment approach that is backed by one of the industry's largest databases," Cooney said.

"Fund VI is off to a tremendous start, and we are further encouraged by the robust pipeline of opportunities."

Hamilton Lane has been active in the secondary space for more than 24 years, aiming to provide investors with significant capital appreciation by delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns.

The fund's predecessor, Secondary Fund V, closed on US$3.9 billion in commitments in 2021.