Christopher Witkowsky

The firm, a former affiliate of KKR that employs a hybrid real estate and private equity investment strategy, will be close to hitting its hard cap of $2bn by summer.

The investment bank has been trying to recruit professionals for a team that would raise private equity funds, a business Goldman says it has been in ‘for a number of years’ and is ‘interested in growing’.

The Leon Black-led firm has $10bn of dry powder for private equity investments and has spent about half of its $14.7bn seventh fund, which closed in 2008.

Jonathan Levin, who was chosen to lead communications with public investors in 2009 as the firm listed on Euronext, is leaving to join hedge fund Grosvenor Capital Management in Chicago.

The $14bn oil and gas endowment has been slowly getting back into private equity investing after a placement agent scandal left its programme in limbo.

The John Grayken-led firm is expected to hold a final close on its second real estate fund in May. The firm has been raising two funds simultaneously since 2009 for real estate and distressed debt investments.

An informal survey taken at PEI Media's CFOs and COOs Forum in New York last week revealed GPs plan to contribute between 2% and 5% to their own funds going forward to better align interests with LPs.

Evan Bayh, the former US Senator from Indiana, will join the firm as Apollo prepares to go public.

The two California pension giants’ real estate portfolios began the long road back to health generating 0.01% and -5% returns, the latter being the smallest decline since the start of the financial crisis.

The $11.7bn public pension is increasing its allocation for the next 12 months, after only deploying $40m in 2010.