Allocator peers I have come to know well throughout my

A few weeks ago, I posted Part 1 of the

After over two decades of investment manager/sponsor assessments, I have

On the surface, the common maxim “capital is capital” might

Bearing the moniker of a first-time fund can sometimes feel

Taking time to process the sheer number of private deal

Almost everybody has heard these sage words of advice from

There is one thing that every GP/sponsor has up their

Most investors will swear on their firstborn child that they

With 48 weeks of weekly writing under my belt, I

Manager (General Partner/Sponsor) Due Diligence Challenges Some of my recent

I am willing to bet my life savings (consequential to

Although some in the investment world feel it is their

The bone-chilling coldness of being professionally iced is agitating, irritating,

I have written previously about the tension that naturally exists

Every private assets due diligence report has “thoroughness” or the

In addition to the determination of capital loss and excess

I can vividly recall arriving 30 years ago in suburban

The prevalence of “groupthink” among prospective LPs is one of

A few weeks ago I wrote about the critical role

Competitive Landscapes We know you think your baby is the

In the movie Heat (1995), Robert De Niro’s character says

A natural and very understandable insecurity expressed to me by

Despite holding positions that champion flexibility of thought, investment analysts

A complex, sometimes abstract system of changing/evolving power dynamics lies

Analysts often use the concept of “repeatability” to support an

For emerging and established managers alike a “first close” comes

After the warm or cold initial LP solicitations, introductory meetings

When approaching prospective LPs, GPs should ponder the multi-dimensional puzzle

There is nothing enjoyable about rejection, no matter how it

As I have incessantly ranted about in past writings, an

GPs face an uphill battle when attempting to secure capital

The “GP and prospective LP” dynamic is a complex one.

I vividly recall sitting in multiple finalist presentations where the

The frenetic pace of information synthesizing and the sheer number

From an allocator’s perspective, regardless of how inclusive (for legitimate

I have always pondered the difficulties placement agents must face

Dear Venture Capital, It has been a while now since

It is universally known that email inboxes are very scary

In private assets investing, although capital tends to be locked

In investing, taking the path least traveled is almost always

Every serious investment research analyst knows about the “leap”. The

Even more than the illiquidity (long lock-up periods), relative lack

The ultimate goal for most private equity investors is for

I will always be the first to proclaim that in

I cannot pretend to fully understand the anguish GPs go

At its core, investing is the utilization of research, perception,

One of my goals as a research analyst is to

“What is your target fund size?” – this is one

Portfolio construction in private assets investing is a domain saturated

Keeping with the sometimes-annoying tradition of a plethora of “lists”

It is always cathartic to take inventory of oneself. Introspection

Although it seems like private assets investing is at the

The top of a limited partner’s (“LPs”) funnel is a

Throughout the years, I have had countless conversations with fellow

As part of the fellowship of analysts, allocators, and investors

I have always had a soft spot for funds of

In my almost 20 years of private assets investing, the