Aviva Investors adds Venture Capital capability to rebranded Private Markets business

(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has added a dedicated Venture Capital (‘VC’) and Strategic Capital capability to its investment offering, as part of a wider project to restructure its Real Assets business, which has been rebranded as Aviva Investors Private Markets.

The new dedicated ‘VC and Strategic Capital’ investment desk will be created through the migration of the Aviva Ventures investment team to sit within Aviva Investors’ Private Markets function, which already manages over £40 billion in assets under management, including equity and debt strategies in real estate and infrastructure, as well as private debt and structured finance.

The decision follows the ‘Mansion House Compact’ announcement made by the UK Government in July 2023, outlining a series of proposals to unlock investment into emerging industries, including unlisted companies, and support growth across the wider economy.

It also comes as Aviva Investors continues to expand its Private Markets offering to meet the evolving demands of investors, particularly DC pension funds, which have historically not been able to access – or allocate to – private markets investments in a way which can optimise long-term investment outcomes. It follows the launch of two Long Term Asset Funds; the £1.6 billion1 Real Estate Active LTAF (‘REALTAF’) in May 2023, which was the largest LTAF brought to market at the time of its launch; and the conversion of the Aviva Investors Climate Transition Real Assets Fund to sit under the new LTAF regime. The two funds together account for more than £2 billion in assets under management.

Led by Ben Luckett, Managing Director, VC and Strategic Capital, the Aviva Investors VC and Strategic Capital team has already managed VC investments on behalf of Aviva’s balance sheet for over 10 years and currently oversees commitments in excess of £450m. It will initially comprise five full-time employees who move across from their existing roles.

Mark Versey, Chief Executive Officer at Aviva Investors, said:

“This is a terrific example of Aviva Investors in growth mode. Private Markets assets today are severely underrepresented in the portfolios of UK DC pension funds relative to global peers. Driven by the UK’s supportive policy environment, which is epitomised by the Mansion House Compact, the scale of the potential investment opportunity is significant. With two LTAFs already in the market we are actively looking at how to give clients suitable access to the full breadth of benefits that Private Markets can offer, including unlisted equities. I am delighted to see our continued ability to innovate and grow.”

Jill Barber, Chief Distribution Officer at Aviva Investors, added:

“The creation of a dedicated Venture Capital investment capability will enable our clients to access some of the most exciting and dynamic growth areas in the economy. We believe the potential returns are attractive and the addition of this investment team means we can continue to meet our clients' increasing demand for exposure to opportunities across Private Markets.”

1 As at 30 June 2024

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About Aviva Investors

Aviva Investors is the global asset management business of Aviva plc. The business delivers investment management solutions, services and client-driven performance to clients worldwide. Aviva Investors operates in 14 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and the United Kingdom with £234 billion in assets under management as at 30 June 2024.

Key risks:

Investment risk: The value of an investment and any income from it can go down as well as up and can fluctuate in response to changes in currency and exchange rates. Investors may not get back the original amount invested. Past performance is not a guide to future returns.

Immovables risk: The Funds will seek exposure to immovables, for example real estate, infrastructure and rural property asset, which have the following inherent risks:

Illiquidity risk – Immovables are inherently illiquid and the Funds should not be considered suitable for investors with a short-term investment outlook. Assets may not be readily saleable and the Funds operate limited redemption arrangements - please see ‘Dealing Arrangement Risk’ and ‘ Suspension Risk’ below.

Valuation risk - Immovable valuations are subject to uncertainty and are a matter of opinion – they may contain subjective elements and are unlikely to be based on a public market price. There is no assurance that estimates resulting from the valuation process will reflect the actual sales price even where a sale occurs shortly after the valuation date.

Availability risk - Identifying and structuring immovable transactions is competitive and involves a high degree of uncertainty and consequently amounts subscribed by investors may not be fully drawn down or invested.

Real Estate risk: The Funds performance will be adversely affected by a downturn in property market capital values or weakening rental yields. Property values are affected by interest rates, economic growth, fluctuations in property yields and tenant default, and on the realisation of the investment, the Funds may receive less than the original amount invested. If tenants default, the Funds will suffer a rental shortfall and likely incur additional cost maintaining, insuring and reletting the property. Certain significant expenditures must be met when the property is vacant.

Development and construction risks: The Funds may be exposed to investments involving purchase of land for development and require permissions/licenses and permits to be obtained first - the Funds may receive little or no income during this time. There may also be delays in the administration of these requests and there is also the risk the relevant authority refuses to grant them.

Rural Property Assets: The Funds may be exposed to rural property assets, for example, including agricultural land and forestry, such investments are subject to physical, economic and political risks. Physical risks include natural disasters (fire, windthrow, storms), pests and diseases; economic risk include crop and timer market price and supply and demand risk; political and regulatory risk includes changes in public subsidy, grants and fiscal regimes.

Investment in other funds (including unregulated funds) risk : The Funds will assume any specific risks of the funds into which they invest. Extra costs may be incurred - in addition to fees and expenses levied by the Funds, charges may be levied by the underlying funds. Investments in unregulated funds are subject to less restrictive rules, they can use higher risk investment techniques and may borrow to invest. They are also valued less frequently and there is a risk that any market movements will not be reflected in the daily price of the Funds and that investors may miss out on unrealised profits from underlying investments. Liquidity of unregulated funds is not assured and cannot be relied upon to meet redemption requests as and when made. Lack of liquidity may affect the value and lead to units being suspended.

ESG risk: Investing on basis of ESG factors may limit the choice of investments and performance of the Funds may be impacted (either positively or negatively).

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Suspension risk: Limited redemption and deferral provisions may not fully reflect the time needed to sell assets in which the Funds invests. In exceptional circumstances and with the prior agreement of the Depositary the Fund can suspend all dealing until the exceptional circumstances have ceased.

Infrastructure Risk: Infrastructure investments may include transportation services, the production and delivery of energy, and technology. The Fund will be exposed to infrastructure related risks such as: changes in planning laws, credit risks of tenants and borrowers and environmental factors. Infrastructure may be more susceptible to adverse economic, political or regulatory changes, and business operations may be adversely affected by additional costs, competition, and regulatory implications.

Net zero and carbon removal certificates: To formally offset carbon emissions carbon removal certificates have to be formally retired and once this happens, they cease to have value. This means when the certificates are retired this will impact financial performance.

Investments outside of commitment queues: Potential unitholders may be impacted by elongated timescales for drawing down commitments into the Fund and the Fund may experience cash drag, impacting on returns.

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