Private Equity Appeals to Some Private Banks Seeking New Opportunities ... Increasing allocation to private equity the key?
Private Banks See Opportunity In Private Equity
July 06, 2010 | by Dow Jones Reporter
(Dow Jones) With optimism slowly returning to the private equity business, some private banks see opportunity.
The credit crisis of 2008 hit private equity hard, making it difficult to borrow for new leveraged deals or cash out of old ones through moves like an initial public offering. Lately, improved credit and equity markets have solved some of those problems, but many traditional private equity investors, such as endowments and pension funds, remain wary of boosting their holdings. That's provided an opening for wealthy individuals, say private banks.
"We're increasing our allocation to private equity," says Guy Dietrich, the head of UBS AG's New York private wealth management office. "It's a tactical decision."
Among the areas he sees attractive deals: distressed debt, distressed real estate, and the secondary market, where new investors can take over others' stakes in existing private equity funds, sometimes shortening the deals' long commitment periods.
There's a historical case for private equity, which fared well in the years following the last recession.
"One of the best times to buy private equity was 2002 or 2003; valuations were attractive," says David Frame, head of alternative investments at JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s private bank. "It's hard to know if that's the kind of market we're in now, but private equity firms are optimistic."
