Growing sponsor adoption reinforces the Firm’s conviction in introducing a dedicated GP-Led secondaries strategy in lower middle market private equity
HighVista Strategies (“HighVista” or the “Firm”), an employee-owned specialty alternatives asset manager, today announced that Raudel Yanez has joined the Firm as a Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Secondaries to launch HighVista’s GP-Led secondaries investing strategy focused on lower middle market private equity.
HighVista is expanding this capability as a natural extension of its longstanding lower middle market private equity investing. The Firm believes GP-Led secondaries, particularly continuation-vehicle transactions, are playing an increasingly important role as sponsors look for flexible solutions for liquidity and ownership while continuing to back high conviction assets. Within the lower middle market, HighVista sees an especially attractive opportunity to lead transactions through differentiated sourcing, sponsor relationships, and underwriting.
Yanez brings more than a decade of experience in the GP-Led secondaries market. Prior to joining HighVista, he was a senior investor at Kline Hill Partners and previously held roles at Spring Bridge Partners and Coller Capital. He earned an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
“We’re excited to welcome Raudel to HighVista,” said Raphi Schorr, Deputy Chief Investment Officer at HighVista. “Our investment focus has long been on identifying opportunities in inefficient markets, and GP-Led secondaries reflects that approach. We see a large, durable opportunity in the lower middle market that rewards experience, deep sponsor networks, and disciplined execution. Raudel’s background and experience will enhance our ability to lead and execute GP-Led secondary transactions effectively.”
“GP-Led secondaries are a compelling adjacency to our lower middle market private equity investing and build on how HighVista has approached private equity for more than two decades,” said John Dickie, Co-Head of Private Equity at HighVista. “That includes underwriting high-quality businesses, partnering closely with sponsors, and structuring transactions to support long-term value creation.”
“For private equity sponsors, GP-Led secondaries have become an essential tool for creating liquidity while continuing to back their highest conviction businesses,” said Yanez. “I look forward to bringing my experience to HighVista and partnering with sponsors to lead transactions involving their best assets. Our goal is to deliver structures with strong alignment that meet the evolving needs of investors.”
