Building a long-term partnership and shifting to a more direct participation model with Kohlberg & Company

UPP invests capital through fund commitments, co-investments, and direct investments. The flurry of investment activity since UPP’s launch in 2021 has underscored the importance of building strategic partnerships with our investment partners to expand and manage our investment portfolio. Our recent investments with Kohlberg & Company exemplify how our partnership approach can yield positive, compounding benefits in a relatively short period of time.

In early 2024, UPP completed its first private equity fund investment by committing to Kohlberg Investors X, a fund managed by Kohlberg focused on middle-market control buyout opportunities in the U.S. In tandem with the fund investment, UPP completed its first co-investment in the fund’s first portfolio company, business advisory firm Riveron. These initial investments laid a strong foundation for our partnership with Kohlberg, subsequently leading to a second co-investment in CLEAResult, an energy efficiency services provider, later in the year.

Co-investments with partners like Kohlberg are a strategic focus for UPP, as they offer a direct participation model which enhances control, improves transparency, and reduces investment-related fees, terms which are essential for achieving secure and stable investment outcomes for our members. They also provide us with valuable sector expertise and attractive opportunities. Learn more about the benefits of direct investing.

“Kohlberg is a market leader in a priority segment for us, and our partnership through Fund X and back-to-back co-investments showcases the type of relationships and the outcomes we aim for – ones that enhance investment outcomes and bring new opportunities that align with UPP’s long-term investment approach,” says Peter Martin Larsen, Senior Managing Director and Head of Private Markets at UPP.

Partnership is a crucial element of UPP’s private markets strategy, which serves several asset classes, leverages an in-house team, integrates environmental, social, and governance factors into investing, and more. Learn about our investments with Kohlberg and more.