Manulife Investment Management announced Jan. 9 the closing of approximately US$1.5 billion in commitments to Manulife Private Equity Partners, L.P. (MPEP).

MPEP is the first fund-of-funds product raised by Manulife Investment Management's Private Markets group.

The company says the fund was seeded with an existing portfolio of funds and co-investment interests in North American buyout and growth funds invested with more than 25 private equity managers. MPEP also includes capacity for new fund investments as well as co-investments to be managed by Manulife Investment Management's Private Markets Group. MPEP's fund investment program is led by Daniel Budde, Senior Managing Director at Manulife Investment Management.

The Fund is backed by a global group of institutional and high net worth investors with AlpInvest Partners acting as the Fund's lead investor.

"Manulife has built a highly attractive private equity program, including relationships with some of the top managers in the North American middle-market,” said Michael Hacker, Managing Director at AlpInvest Partners said. “We appreciated the opportunity to partner with Manulife in the development of this product, including the selection of a high-quality seed portfolio."

High net worth clients

"The Fund attracted prominent institutional and high net worth clients from Europe, North America and Asia, which demonstrates the strength of Manulife Investment Management's Private Markets platform and global reach," said Steve Blewitt, Global Head of Private Markets, Manulife Investment Management.