AlpInvest Partners — Secondaries Buyer Profile

AlpInvest Partners

HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands & New York, USA

Founded1999-2000 (secondaries since 2002)

OwnershipMajority owned by Carlyle Group (since 2011)

StrategyLP-led fund stakes, GP-led secondaries, co-investment, primary fund commitments

ScaleSuccessive secondaries programs raised multiple billions each

AlpInvest was created around 1999-2000 as the joint private equity investment platform for Dutch pension funds APG and PGGM, managing a large primary fund-of-funds and co-investment program on their behalf before launching a dedicated secondaries strategy in 2002.

The Carlyle Group acquired a 60% majority stake in AlpInvest in 2011, bringing the firm into Carlyle's global investment solutions platform (branded Carlyle AlpInvest) while AlpInvest continued managing capital for its original pension-fund clients alongside new third-party investors.

AlpInvest's secondaries business has grown into one of the largest buyers of private equity fund stakes and GP-led continuation vehicle positions in the market, with successive secondaries programs each raising several billion dollars.

Worth knowing

Originated as an in-house investment platform for two of Europe's largest pension funds, not as a fund manager courting outside capital.

See the full buyer directory, or read the glossaryfor the terms (LP-led, GP-led, continuation fund) that describe how firms like this actually transact.