Zurich Group $2bn venture with Capital Z

Capital Z Partners and Zurich Financial Services Group have formed a global alternative asset manage...

Capital Z Partners and Zurich Financial Services Group have formed a global alternative asset management company, Capital Z Investment Partners.

Zurich, a global financial services provider, will invest $2bn in the new company. Capital Z, an independently owned alternative asset management firm, and its principals have managed around $4.4bn since 1990.

Capital Z's two flagship funds, raised in 1998, are Capital Z Investments LP (CZI), a $1.5bn alternative investment fund, and Capital Z Financial Services Fund II LP (CZF II), a $1.85bn private equity fund focused on the financial services industry. Zurich's capital commitment will be allocated to a new range of funds.

The partnership is designed to strengthen Capital Z's position in the alternative investment management sector. "Capital Z plans to benefit from the resources and distribution networks of Zurich," said Capital Z partner Laurence Cheng.

Sharissa Jones, a Capital Z partner in the US, said: "We will continue supporting alternative asset partners, seeding managers on a global basis."