CVC Secondaries Fund Hits $9.3B; CPP Sells $2.9B in Fund Stakes

CPP Investments CEO John Graham said the Canadian pension giant will keep backing private equity despite a rougher stretch for the asset class, even as the fund works through a private markets deployment pace that topped $22B in commitments during fiscal 2026 across private credit, private equity and real assets. The fund posted a 7.8% net return for the year and recently sold a portfolio of 33 North American and European buyout fund stakes, built up over roughly two decades, to Blackstone and Ardian for approximately $2.9B, while also committing $1.75B to a new digital infrastructure partnership with EQT.

Among US allocators, the District of Columbia Retirement Board made a $735M commitment to Arrowstreet US Equity Fund and a $100M commitment to Ares Pathfinder III, as the fund's total market value reached a high of $14.7B. The Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association committed roughly $532M across eight private equity funds and unveiled a 2026 non-core real estate pacing plan targeting $250M in new commitments to close the gap toward its 7% target allocation. At the same time, a larger shift is unfolding: median private equity allocations among foundations and endowments fell below 25% in the second quarter as public equity strength lifted overall portfolio returns, according to Northern Trust Universe data.

On the GP fundraising side, CVC Capital Partners' Secondary Opportunities Fund VI has raised $9.3B ahead of a third-quarter final close, more than 60% larger than its predecessor and well past its $7B target. Looking ahead, CVC's Fund X, slated to launch in early 2027, is expected to match or exceed Fund IX's €26B haul — still the largest private equity fund ever raised.

Elsewhere, Kingswood Capital Management closed Kingswood Capital Opportunities Fund IV at $3.1B and a debut small-cap vehicle at $900M, both above target and closing at their hard caps within about five weeks, bringing the Los Angeles firm's total AUM past $7B.

Read on for all the day’s fundraising news headlines.

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Dakota tracked $296.5bn in private capital transactions in June, up sharply from May on the back of MGX's ~$50bn AI infrastructure raise and SpaceX's $60.0bn acquisition of Anysphere. Clearlake, Blackstone, Crescent, and Ares all closed flagship funds well above target.

Get the full breakdown in this month's Private Markets Review.

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Professional sports franchises have crossed from passion-driven assets into a documented institutional allocation. Across the NFL, NBA, MLB, and English Premier League, franchise values now exceed $500B across 112 teams, driven by limited supply, accelerating media rights revenue, and a growing wave of institutional capital. The Ross-Arctos Sports Franchise Index delivered 16.0% annualized returns over the trailing 10 years through Q1 2026. KKR's $1.4B acquisition of Arctos Partners in February 2026 — the firm that holds positions in 15 institutional sports franchises — is the clearest signal yet that the largest alternative asset managers now view sports as a core allocation category.

This report covers the investment case for sports as a discrete asset class, ownership structures and valuation trends across all four leagues, the 16 institutional platforms actively deploying capital, the nine funds currently in market, which LP categories are committing and why, and where the market is heading over the next decade.

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