Chris Dastoor – Money Management
Perennial’s Value Small and Microcap team, led by Andrew Smith, is releasing a new strategy, the Perennial Private to Public Opportunities Fund.
Its objective would be to generate superior absolute returns, above a hurdle rate, from an actively managed portfolio of typically 30-45 unlisted growth capital, pre-IPO investments, IPOs and placements over a five-year period.
The fund is exclusively available to wholesale investors and would be managed by the seven-person Perennial Value Small Cap team, led by Smith, head of smaller companies, and Ryan Sohn, co-portfolio manager.
“Based on our observations in the small and microcaps sector, we have identified a gap in the market and there are tremendous opportunities to invest in companies requiring growth capital,” Smith said.
Murray said strong opportunities exist for wholesale investors seeking value in the pre-IPO sector, citing the scale and strong network of the firm.
“The Perennial Private to Public Opportunities Fund offers investors access to capture upside potential of companies early in their growth cycle, whilst avoiding early stage risk associated with seed and venture capital,” Murray said.
The fund will target companies that meet a range of critical investment criteria, and the universe of unlisted companies meeting this criteria are typically hard to access for most investors.
The launch comes after the success of the Perennial Value Microcap Opportunities Trust, which had received Money Management’s Fund Manager of the Year award for Australian Small Cap Equities.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management had completed due diligence and is partnering with Perennial on the launch.
