Russell Investment Group has acquired Pantheon, the private equity fund-of-funds specialist. The agreement demonstrates the growing global appetite for private equity funds-of-funds.
Pantheon will become Russell’s solution for private equity services, providing an enhanced and specialized capability within Russell’s broader range of investment services. Pantheon will remain exclusively focused on private equity services and clients, and will continue to serve clients from the firm’s offices in London, Brussels, San Francisco and Hong Kong.
Russell, which has its own private equity fund-of-funds business, will integrate services with Pantheon to deepen its private equity capabilities as part of a complete range of multi-manager investment solutions. Pantheon currently manages $7 billion of private equity fund-of-funds assets.
“We are thrilled to have found such an ideal strategic fit between Russell and Pantheon,” says Hal Strong, managing director of alternative investments at Russell. “This agreement represents our increased commitment to private equity, and we absolutely believe in Pantheon as the premier provider of this specialised service. Our goal is for Pantheon to continue to offer excellent private equity investment services to its clients, and this acquisition will allow Russell’s private equity business to be organized and managed under Pantheon’s leadership.”
“This relationship marks the beginning of a new and exciting phase in Pantheon’s development at a time when we see tremendous potential in private equity,” agrees Rhoddy Swire, founder and senior partner of Pantheon. “We are delighted to find a firm that shares our vision and commitment to the private equity business. We look forward to working closely with Russell for the benefit of our clients and employees.” The transaction is due to be completed once statutory approval is received.
“Our move to be a part of the Russell organisation will, above all, enhance the services we provide to our clients,” adds Swire. “Our expertise is and will remain focused on private equity. We are enhancing our business with Russell’s quality of research, scale of resources and leadership position in the multi-manager marketplace.”
“We have been advising clients for several years that private equity should be a component of institutional investment portfolios,” says Strong. “In the long run we believe that private equity will provide higher returns than listed equities, and these excess returns are an important part of helping investors to achieve their overall return targets.”