Private equity may be the next big thing coming for you, the retail investor, as endowments and government funds look for a place to offload holdings of PE they’re no longer happy with, expect a push to put PE in your 401(k).
Bloomberg reports that Yale is looking to drastically reduce its exposure to private equity investments. Marc Rubinstein writes:
Four years on, Yale is reportedly preparing to sell up to $6 billion in private equity holdings. (“The university is exploring a sale of private equity fund interests,” a university spokesperson told the Yale Daily News.) That represents almost 15% of the fund’s $41.4 billion of assets, and around 30% of its private equity investments, based on data in Private Equity International’s 2024 rankings.
Meanwhile, China’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp. is also selling. Investing.com‘s Senad Karaahmetovic reports that the fund will sell $1 billion in U.S. private equity assets, writing:
The assets are currently held in funds managed by eight U.S. fund managers, including Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Inc and Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG), according to Reuters.
CIC has engaged Evercore, a U.S. investment bank, to advise on the sale. The goal is to complete the divestments by the end of June. However, the total value of the assets and the sale deadline could potentially change, based on market interest and pricing.
The decision to sell these assets was reportedly initiated in late 2024. CIC began discussions with advisers and asset managers as part of a strategy to optimize its investment portfolio.
Action Line: Is private equity right for your portfolio? You should talk to your adviser about that. There’s no blanket answer to that question, but you should take notice when institutional owners are selling and there’s a push to open an asset up to more retail investors. When you want to talk about risk and your portfolio, email me at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
Read more about private equity here.
