The University of California system has offloaded $1bn of private equity fund stakes to HarbourVest Partners, Bloomberg reported. UC Investments, which manages a roughly $190bn portfolio spanning retirement, endowment, and cash assets, began the sales process earlier this year. The stakes on the block include funds from software and other technology-focused buyouts.

As of mid-2025, its most recent annual report showed $39bn of private assets by market value, with private equity accounting for a little more than half. The allocation to the asset class had climbed to 10% of the total portfolio, up from 5% in mid-2020, leaving the office with a larger private equity book to actively manage.

The secondhand market for private stakes has ballooned in recent years, initially propelled by interest-rate increases that slowed dealmaking and pushed fund managers and their backers to find new routes to liquidity. Pricing, however, has been uneven. Broader market strains, including the US conflict with Iran and concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence on software companies, have contributed to wider discounts, with software-heavy portfolios among the hardest hit.