HighVista Strategies, an employee-owned specialty alternatives asset manager, said it has closed $800 million in capital commitments for HighVista Private Equity Fund XI, L.P., exceeding the fund’s $725 million target. The Boston-based firm said the final close followed a strong first close in December 2025 and was supported by a very high re-up rate from existing investors, alongside commitments from new limited partners.
Fund XI follows HighVista Private Equity X, which closed at $675 million in May 2024, and the firm positioned the latest raise as a continuation of disciplined growth aligned with its lower-middle-market strategy. HighVista said Fund XI will invest in a diversified pool of small, privately held U.S. companies, generally with enterprise values below $150 million, with a portfolio approach designed to capture opportunities in what it described as a less efficient segment of the broader private equity market.
HighVista said Fund XI’s strategy will combine three core components: primary fund commitments to sub-$500 million specialist private equity sponsors; direct co-investments alongside funded and independent sponsors; and selective purchases of lower-middle-market secondary interests. The firm framed this structure as a single, integrated portfolio model intended to balance manager selection, direct exposure, and secondary entry points while maintaining flexibility across market cycles.
The firm also pointed to continued deal flow in U.S. family- and founder-owned businesses and highlighted the growth of the small and emerging manager ecosystem and the evolution of the independent sponsor universe as factors supporting a robust pipeline. HighVista said these dynamics should enable the investment team to maintain a high capital deployment threshold as Fund XI enters its investment period.
In conjunction with the fundraiser, HighVista said it has strengthened its private equity team by hiring Woody Hamilton as a Vice President and admitting three Managing Directors, Whit Matthews, Rob Nagle, and Ryan Tiffany, as Partners. The firm described the additions and promotions as enhancements to leadership depth and execution capabilities as the fund begins investing.
HighVista said the fundraising process also expanded its limited partner base, reflecting heightened interest in lower-middle-market exposure among institutions and family offices. The firm said it values building new client relationships while continuing to serve existing investors in its private equity program.
HighVista Strategies, founded in 2004 and based in Boston, said it manages $11 billion of capital globally across private markets strategies, including private credit, lower middle market private equity, and early-stage venture capital, as well as public markets strategies spanning biotechnology equities, hedged public markets, and multi-asset alternatives.
KEY QUOTES
“We are deeply appreciative of the support from our longstanding investors in Fund XI. Reaching our close in a short timeframe reflects strong investor support for the focused approach that we have refined over more than two decades of investing.”
Scott Reed, Co-Head of Private Equity, HighVista
“We continue to see many attractive opportunities to invest in family and founder-owned businesses in the U.S. The expansion of the small and emerging manager ecosystem, combined with the significant evolution of the independent sponsor universe, creates a robust pipeline for Fund XI. This will afford us the ability to maintain a very high bar for capital deployment as we build out the portfolio from here.”
John Dickie, Co-Head of Private Equity, HighVista
“We welcomed a number of new limited partners to the HighVista platform during this process. There is significant interest in the lower middle market from institutions and family offices, and we value the opportunity to establish new client relationships while continuing to serve existing investors in the HighVista Private Equity program.”
Caroline Page, Head of Relationship Management, HighVista
