Partners Group and Convergence Partners have established Helical Capital Partners, a private markets firm that will provide the South African investor community with access to a diversified, global portfolio of private investments.
 
Helical Capital Partners’ South African operations will be based in Johannesburg and will be led by principals Craig Beney (previously COO of Convergence Partners) and Carlos Ferreira (previously CEO of Fairstone Capital). 

The focus will be placed on global relative value investing across private equity, private real estate, private infrastructure and private debt.
 
“There has definitely been a move by local investors towards looking for alternative investment opportunities that still deliver returns above listed equity, whilst also providing hard currency exposure and reducing portfolio risk with further asset allocation,” said Craig Beney, co-CEO of Helical Capital Partners.
 
Carlos Ferreira, co-CEO, added: “At Helical Capital Partners, we understand where to find these opportunities in developed private markets, and are able to provide access to attractive international investments through our relationship with Partners Group. Our initial focus will be on offering exposure to an integrated portfolio of primary, secondary and direct private equity investments spanning multiple sectors and geographies.”

Helical Capital Partners will look at a variety of fund raising and investment opportunities, including listing local funds and select bespoke funds for international private markets investments. 

In addition, the company will explore the establishment of an impact fund manager specifically focused on investments across the Sub-Saharan African region.
 
“We have seen steadily increasing interest from sophisticated institutional investors worldwide in private markets investment,” said Felix Haldner, Partner, Client Solutions, Partners Group. 

“Many of these investors are seeking to enhance the risk-return profile of their portfolios by reducing their public markets exposure in favour of allocations to globally diversified private markets offerings. In this context, we are looking forward to working closely with Helical Capital Partners to provide the sub-Saharan African investment community with local access to global private markets investments,” he added.
 
“Convergence Partners has been working closely with Partners Group to identify investment opportunities for the benefit of the African continent,” commented Brandon Doyle, CEO of Convergence Partners. 

“While Convergence Partners will maintain its core focus on tech-specific private equity funds across sub-Saharan Africa, this relationship will enable local investor participation in international private markets through the establishment of Helical Capital Partners. We believe it will also deliver enhanced cross-border skills transfer and capacity building within the sector.”