In early November, Credit Suisse held the final close of its flagship Private Equity Seasons Global IV fund at USD 400m. The fund is the fourth iteration of Credit Suisse’s annual Seasons Global Program, which offers investors access to a single-vintage basket of high quality, hard to access Private Equity funds. By investing every year into the program, investors can build over time a self-funding Private Equity portfolio that is diversified across vintage years, strategies, geographies and managers. This innovative investment concept was designed to reduce net-out-of-pocket cash investments whilst magnifying returns.

Fabian Shey, Global Head of Credit Suisse’s Alternative and Strategic Investments team that designed the fund and led the fundraising for the Seasons Global solution, says “It’s great to see that we are meeting the demand of our wealth management clients for private market solutions that can help them achieve their objectives – both in terms of return generation and portfolio diversification.”

“The successful fundraising reinforces the strong support our investment approach has with clients. Our long-standing expertise and track record in creating private market solutions for wealth management clients gives us an edge in this space. We are a first mover to include private equity as part of the strategic asset allocation of UHWNI wealth management mandates, giving our wealth management clients direct access within a managed portfolio. This feature is highly sought after by clients and proves our strategy to build stronger, more resilient portfolios,” says Michael Strobaek, Global Chief Investment Officer at Credit Suisse.

The Alternatives and Strategic Investments department that invests with clients in private markets at Credit Suisse manages over USD 20bn across funds and direct investments, working across seven investment hubs with more than 140 professionals around the world.

Alois Müller, Head of the Private Equity Group, says “Credit Suisse’s experience in sourcing best-in-class Private Equity funds and offering them in an easy-to-access format has proven itself. We continue to develop innovative solutions and find attractive fund and direct investment opportunities.”