(Bloomberg) AIG Global Investment Group, a unit of American International Group Inc., raised $700 million to make private-equity investments with the largest buyout firms in the US.

AIG Global, based in New York, said in a statement yesterday it exceeded its initial target of $500 million with the help of a contribution from the AIG Employee Retirement Plan. AIG Global will invest with companies in the consumer, pharmaceutical, media, and business- and financial-services industries.

?We are well-positioned to assemble an optimal portfolio of top-tier buyout deals that have high potential for value creation,? FT Chong, head of AIG Global, said in the statement.

Private-equity funds globally may raise a record $300 billion this year. In July, Blackstone Group LP raised $15.6 billion for the world?s biggest buyout fund. Its 2002 fund has returned an average of 63 percent a year. The Standard & Poor?s 500 Index climbed an annual average of 4.6 percent in that time. AIG Global manages $540 billion in investments including private-equity, hedge, real-estate, and stock and bond funds. The unit of AIG, the world?s biggest insurer, employs about 1,800 people in 44 offices.