HarbourVest Global Private Equity - Secured liquidity

HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) posted an NAV decrease of 0.7% between July 2019 (last interim results) and May 2020, largely due to the COVID-19 induced market downturn in March (ytd NAV performance since end-2019 was a 4.8% decline). Although increased capital calls left HVPE with a historically low coverage ratio, we perceive HVPE’s liquidity (supported by its US$600m credit facility) as sufficient to cover near-term commitments. HVPE withstood the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) well compared to the broad public market and enters the current turmoil with high exposure to resilient sectors such as tech and software and healthcare.