Legal & General has appointed Ardian to build a diversified private equity portfolio within its Private Market Asset Fund, aiming to enhance returns and diversify access for its 5.6 million UK defined contribution members amid a shift towards value-driven investment strategies.
Ardian has been appointed to construct the private equity holdings for Legal & General’s Private Market Asset Fund, the vehicle within L&G’s Lifetime Advantage Fund designed to broaden access to private markets for the insurer’s 5.6 million UK defined contribution members, according to IPE.
Under the mandate, Ardian’s co‑investment team will assemble a diversified portfolio of private companies across a wide set of general partner sponsors, industries, regions and company sizes to strengthen the fund’s allocation to private assets. The current target for the mandate sits between about £140m (€160m) and £280m, though L&G expects the programme to expand. According to IPE, Martin Dietz, head of diversified strategies at L&G, said: “But this will grow. This is very much a growing proposition.”
L&G sees the initiative as part of a broader reappraisal in the UK DC market away from an exclusive focus on the lowest headline fee towards a greater emphasis on value for money and potential higher returns from less liquid asset classes. As Dietz told IPE: “I think this is really where the UK DC market is changing. It was all about the lowest fee, and now people care more about value for money. So, can we get extra returns if we pay a little bit more? … We want the liquidity premium coming through and we’re clearly targeting asset classes that give strong returns and some diversification versus equities, and we want to clearly target strong providers and some alpha as well.” He added that the additional cost would likely be small, “a few basis points more”.
Lesley‑Ann Morgan, global head of DC at L&G, underlined the role of co‑investments in widening access to higher‑quality private deals for DC savers. She told IPE: “We run two main default funds for clients, one has a relatively small amount of private markets allocation in it, but the other one, the L&G Private Market Asset Fund has a 15% allocation [to private markets] and this has been really gaining attraction from new clients coming in.” Morgan said co‑investment structures can allow DC schemes at scale to secure attractive transactions more cost‑effectively for members.
Ardian framed the mandate as a co‑investment strategy intended to deliver selective access to global private equity transactions. Patrick Kocsi, co‑head of private equity co‑investment at Ardian, told IPE: “This [mandate] is focused on private equity co‑investments to give L&G clients access to private equity transactions across the globe. We have relationships with over 600 private equity firms globally, and through those relationships, we’re going to select the best transactions across [their] deal flow. Typically, we do less than one out of 10 transactions that we are offered. So, we’re trying to be very selective, while looking for broad diversification across geography, company, size, and industry.” He noted Ardian’s private equity platform, reported to manage roughly $134bn, gives the firm experience in structuring separately managed accounts suited to institutional needs.
The appointment comes as Ardian continues to expand its footprint across direct buyouts, secondaries and co‑investments. According to a BusinessWire announcement, Ardian recently bought a US$2.1bn portfolio of limited partnership interests from CPP Investments, illustrating the firm’s weight in the secondary market and its capability to provide liquidity and portfolio management solutions to large investors. Ardian’s own materials describe a long‑standing co‑investment programme and a Secondaries & Primaries platform that is among the largest in the global secondary market, while publicly reported deals such as its acquisition of French self‑storage group Costockage show the firm is diversifying its sector exposure.
Ardian also stresses the integration of environmental, social and governance factors across its strategies. The firm says it has embedded ESG into its investment processes since 2008, maintains a dedicated Sustainability team and produces company‑level roadmaps intended to lift sustainability performance and long‑term value. L&G flagged alignment with its own ESG and sustainability beliefs as a key criterion when selecting providers.
For UK DC schemes, the arrangement signals a maturing approach to unlocking private market returns for mass‑market pension investors. L&G’s combination of scale, an established 15% private markets allocation within one of its default strategies and a co‑investment model seeks to marry selectivity with cost discipline. Whether that approach delivers materially higher net returns for members will depend on deal selection, execution and how the modest extra fee burden identified by L&G compares with any incremental returns over time.
- https://www.ipe.com/news/ardian-wins-mandate-to-build-portfolio-for-landgs-private-market-asset-fund/10135325.article – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.ipe.com/news/ardian-wins-mandate-to-build-portfolio-for-landgs-private-market-asset-fund/10135325.article – Ardian has been awarded a mandate to construct a portfolio for Legal & General’s Private Market Asset Fund, which is part of L&G’s Lifetime Advantage Fund. This initiative aims to provide L&G’s 5.6 million UK defined contribution members with enhanced access to private markets. Ardian’s co-investment team will develop a diversified portfolio of private companies across various general partner sponsors, sectors, regions, and company sizes to strengthen the fund’s private market allocations. The current target size for the mandate is between £140 million (€160 million) and £280 million, with plans for future growth. Martin Dietz, head of diversified strategies at L&G, emphasised the importance of providers that offer private equity exposure aligned with their DC clients’ needs and ESG and sustainability beliefs. Lesley-Ann Morgan, global head of DC at L&G, highlighted the benefits of the co-investment approach in providing DC funds with access to high-quality investments that might otherwise be inaccessible. Patrick Kocsi, co-head of private equity co-investment at Ardian, noted that the mandate focuses on private equity co-investments to offer L&G clients access to global private equity transactions, leveraging relationships with over 600 private equity firms worldwide.
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231107116291/en/Ardian-Acquires-%242.1-Billion-Private-Equity-Portfolio-from-CPP-Investments – Ardian, a leading private investment house, has acquired a US$2.1 billion portfolio of limited partnership interests in 20 private equity funds from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments). This acquisition underscores Ardian’s position as a world leader in secondary buyout funds. The portfolio comprises 20 limited partnership interests, primarily in North American but also including European buyout funds. The deal continues Ardian’s secondary funds strategy to provide active portfolio management solutions to large institutions looking to rebalance their portfolios and monetise their private equity investments. Ardian has the world’s largest Secondaries and Primaries platform with more than $89 billion under management or advisement. Over the last four years, Ardian has deployed more than US$40 billion in secondary private equity investments. Mark Benedetti, member of the executive committee and co-head of Secondaries & Primaries at Ardian, stated that the acquisition comes at a significant time for the industry, as many limited partners continue to address the denominator effect and are seeking portfolio management opportunities to free up capital for future commitments. The portfolio includes well-diversified North American and European buyout funds led by high-quality general partners known to Ardian.
- https://www.ardian.com/private-equity – Ardian’s Private Equity activities involve taking direct ownership stakes in entrepreneurial companies on behalf of clients, as well as using their Secondaries & Primaries platform to acquire interests in funds managed by other sponsors. The firm leverages its financial and operational expertise to help portfolio companies accelerate growth and expand their international footprint. Ardian aims to improve the sustainability performance of every company they invest in, ensuring it creates durable value for customers, employees, and shareholders, and makes a positive contribution to society. Their Private Equity expertise includes the Secondaries & Primaries platform, which is the largest player in the global secondary market for stakes in private equity funds and a major provider of liquidity to institutional investors.
- https://www.ardian.com/expertise/private-equity/co-investment – Ardian’s Co-Investment strategy offers tailored solutions to meet the diverse needs of investors, ranging from building a well-balanced portfolio alongside top general partners to targeting specific market segments, such as small and mid-cap buyouts, selected geographies, or adjacent asset classes like Infrastructure co-investments or single asset continuation funds. The firm has been incorporating ESG into its investment strategies since 2008, with a dedicated Sustainability team supporting the management of companies in their Direct portfolios, creating annual roadmaps for each business. Ardian believes improving sustainability performance adds substantial value to investments and seeks opportunities where their expertise can have the biggest impact. They also benchmark the sponsors in their Secondaries portfolio every year on a wide variety of sustainability KPIs.
- https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2024/1/deal-wrap-ardian-acquires-costockage-tpg-to-buy-majority-stake-in-sayari-80057366 – Ardian has added French self-storage company Costockage SAS to its portfolio, marking its first investment in the self-storage space. The deal was advised by Edmond de Rothschild, with Alantra advising the seller. Costockage’s co-founders, Mickael Nadjar and Adam Levy-Zauberman, will remain at the helm of the business. This acquisition reflects Ardian’s strategy of diversifying its portfolio by entering new sectors, such as self-storage, to enhance its investment offerings.
- https://www.ardian.com/expertise/our-portfolio – Ardian’s portfolio includes a diverse range of investments across various sectors and geographies. Notable recent additions include Anovo, a provider of high-touch specialty pharmacy services in the USA; Project Durando, a state-of-the-art student housing complex in Italy; and Dovida, a person-centred home care provider operating in six countries. These investments demonstrate Ardian’s commitment to supporting companies that offer essential services and have strong growth potential across different regions.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The article was published today, 23 February 2026, and reports on a recent development, indicating high freshness.
Quotes check
Score:
8
Notes:
The article includes direct quotes from Martin Dietz, Lesley-Ann Morgan, and Patrick Kocsi. A search for these quotes did not reveal identical matches in earlier publications, suggesting originality. However, without access to the original sources, full verification is not possible. The absence of earlier matches is a positive indicator, but the inability to fully verify the quotes warrants a slightly reduced score.
Source reliability
Score:
9
Notes:
The article is published by IPE, a reputable publication in the investment industry. While not as widely known as some major news organisations, IPE is considered reliable within its niche. The content appears to be original reporting rather than aggregation, and there is no indication of paywalled content.
Plausibility check
Score:
9
Notes:
The claims about Ardian’s mandate to build a portfolio for L&G’s Private Market Asset Fund align with known industry practices and recent developments. The article provides specific details, such as the target size of the mandate (£140m to £280m) and the strategic focus on private equity co-investments. The language and tone are consistent with industry reporting. No significant inconsistencies or implausible elements were identified.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM
Summary:
The article is recent, cites direct quotes from primary sources, and aligns with known industry practices, suggesting a high level of credibility. However, the inability to fully verify the quotes and the reliance on a single source for these quotes introduce some uncertainty. Therefore, the overall assessment is a PASS with MEDIUM confidence.