Columbia Threadneedle Investments and alternative asset manager Hamilton Lane announced a strategic collaboration to deliver new investment products for the wealth channel. An interval fund combining public and private equity exposure, currently awaiting SEC approval, will likely be the first product launched through the two firms’ partnership.
Columbia Threadneedle brings its public markets expertise, multi-asset investment capabilities and strategic distribution relationships to the collaboration. Hamilton Lane specializes in alternatives, with an established private markets platform, investment sourcing capabilities and data analytics expertise.
Columbia Threadneedle filed a preliminary registration statement with the SEC for the Columbia Hamilton Lane Growth Innovation Fund, a public-private growth equity interval fund. If the fund is approved by the SEC, it will be offered to the wealth channel through financial advisors.
According to the filing, the fund will focus on capital appreciation, allocating at least 80% of its net assets to investments in growth innovation companies. The fund will be roughly evenly split in exposure to publicly traded securities and private assets. At least 40% of the fund’s assets will be invested in underlying funds managed by Hamilton Lane.
As financial advisors place a greater emphasis on giving their clients exposure to private assets, joint ventures between traditional and alternative investment managers have proliferated.
Among the highest-profile tie-ups, in 2024, public markets player Capital Group and private markets giant KKR became the first asset managers to collaborate on public/private investment products for the wealth channel, launching funds focused on public and private fixed income.
Last year, State Street Investment Management purchased a stake in alternative asset manager Coller Capital, seeking similar collaboration.
Earlier this summer, Wellington Management, Vanguard and Blackstone launched the first funds from their partnership on public/private product development, launching an interval fund that blends exposure to public equities, fixed-income assets and private-market strategies.