Wealth management company Client Associates on Tuesday announced the first close at about Rs 300 crore of its maiden fund Client Associates Alternate Fund (CAAF). With the first close, the company said it is now targeting to achieve overall commitments of up to Rs 500 crore by exercising the green shoe option of Rs 200 crore and concluding the same in the current fiscal.
Client Associates is currently managing Assets Under Advisory (AUA) of around $5.5 billion from high net-worth individuals (HNIs) and ultra-HNIs families in India.
Speaking on the first close, Himanshu Kohli, Co-founder, Client Associates, said the maiden fund represents a significant milestone for the company as it ventures into the realm of asset management.
The new fund will focus on startups from pre-Series A to Series B stages of growth predominantly in the consumer and consumer-related sectors along with financial services. The fund will look at a portfolio of 12-15 companies with investments ranging from Rs 10 crore to Rs 50 crore per company.
Further, CAAF will selectively explore later-stage opportunities (pre-IPO) where “it feels there could be value creation opportunities for its Limited Partners (LPs),” the company said.
The fund said it has garnered interest and participation from domestic family offices and UHNIs primarily comprising existing relationships of Client Associates. 39 per cent of the company’s clients are family business owners, 33 per cent are CXOs, 25 per cent are entrepreneurs, and 3 per cent are trusts, according to the details on the company’s website.
Shivam Diwan, Executive Director – CA Alternate Funds, Client Associates, said, “CAAF’s investment strategy is designed to capitalize on the immense potential of India’s startup ecosystem. We are excited about the opportunity to partner with fundamentally strong businesses with proven operational excellence. We aim to not only deliver solid returns for our clients but also contribute to the growth and development of the overall ecosystem.”