Nest has launched a new procurement inviting fund managers to provide solutions for investing in private equity.

The pension scheme is targeting an allocation of 5 per cent of assets under management to private equity, which is estimated to be £1.5bn by the end of 2024.

Nest, which has 10 million members and manages £20bn assets under management, is seeking ‘innovative ways’ to begin investing into growth and mid-market private equity.

Over the next 20 years, the pension scheme is expecting to invest around £80bn on behalf of its members, and Nest head of private markets, Stephen O’Neill, stated that the scheme wanted private equity to play an “important role” in its portfolio.

“We’ve had some great conversations with fund managers during our market warming exercise and I’m delighted to now formally launch this procurement,” he continued.
 
“As ever, we’re looking for bidders to present global solutions that will be evergreen and scale with Nest over time.”

The focus of the procurement is on accessing private equity, with the scheme seeking to support companies that are growing and looking for new capital to help fund their expansion.

Nest noted that the scheme would then benefit from the additional profitable revenue the business generates and receive “considerable diversification benefits”.

The new mandate will be added to the existing range of funds that make up its default strategy.

Applications for the tender can be made through the Bravo platform by 17 September, with Nest noting that successful fund managers will need to demonstrate they can offer a high quality and evergreen investment processes, a robust risk management framework and integration of environmental, social and governance factors into their investment and asset management processes.
 
“We’re excited about the positive impact we can have on growing companies,” O’Neill added.

“We’ll provide an important source of capital, injecting new money into innovative and growing businesses.”

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