Family Offices Today

07/18/2020

CRV raises another early-stage venture fund | Bolt Financial, Bond Financial and Gyant.com raise new rounds - Silicon Valley Business Journal

Palo Alto-based early-stage #venturecapital firm CRV said this week that it had closed a new $600 million fund. The #fund is its 18th overall, but notable as its first raised “entirely during the current #pandemic."
The firm's partners noted in a blog post that the fund was “heavily oversubscribed” but it decided that capping the fund at $600 million — the same size as its previous fund — was necessary to keep it at the right size:
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2020/07/17/the-funded-virtual-venture-world-vc-firm-funding.html

The fund is CRV's 18th overall, but notable as its first raised “entirely during the current pandemic." #VentureCapital #Startups #Funding"

07/17/2020

Pensions and sovereign wealth funds to become more sophisticated investors in 2020 | PitchBook

Before they began co-investing in deals alongside their GPs, #sovereignwealthfunds (#SWFs) and public #pensions financed private equity for years. Though the trend is well publicized, the practice is still rare overall.

Pension #funds co-invest in about 2% of all US private equity deals, while SWFs contribute to less than 1%. Those percentages go up for much larger deals; 12.3% of $1 billion-plus transactions involved either public pensions or SWFs in 2019, according to PitchBook's 2019 Annual US PE Breakdown. Even if the proportions are relatively small, those types of deal structures are happening more often. Last year, public pension and SWF activity matched 2018's high in total co-invested #PE deals across the US; combined deal value, meanwhile, has topped $67 billion for three consecutive years:
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/pensions-and-sovereign-wealth-funds-to-become-more-sophisticated-investors-in-2020

The uptick in sovereign wealth fund and public pension deal activity indicates a small number of more sophisticated investors—a trend we expect to continue this year.

07/16/2020

How the pandemic fast-tracked the multibillion-dollar education technology industry

The #coronavirus #pandemic has been a real learning curve, not least for educators. But with many schools now reopening, questions are being asked about what the future of education might look like. CNBC Make It’s Karen Gilchrist speaks to #entrepreneurs in India, Hong Kong and the U.S. to learn more about the multibillion-dollar #business opportunity.

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/06/08/the-coronavirus-pandemic-changed-schools-education-technology-edtech.html

The coronavirus pandemic has been a real learning curve, not least for educators. But with many schools now reopening, questions are being asked about what the future of education might look like. CNBC Make It's Karen Gilchrist speaks to entrepreneurs in India, Hong Kong and the U.S. to learn more a...

07/14/2020

Q&A with Monument Group's Janet Brooks: PE fundraising during the pandemic

Monument Group, one of the world’s most renowned placement agents, completed two high profile #fund closures last week: Charlesbank Credit Opportunity Fund II closed at its hard cap of USD700 million, and Manila-based #privateequity firm Navegar‘s final close of Navegar II at USD197 million.

PEWire caught up with Janet Brooks (pictured), a partner in Monument Group’s London office, to talk about her experiences of raising funds during the #pandemic.
https://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/2020/07/13/287479/qa-monument-groups-janet-brooks-pe-fundraising-during-pandemic

07/13/2020

Four Strategies That Banks Can Use To Position For Family Offices

Establishing a #familyoffice serves to centralize #wealth management and related functions for many ultra-high net worth families. While some family offices are established to avoid entrusting wealth to private #banks, many still require their assistance in one way or another.
Traditionally, wealth management has been the focus of family offices. This is, however, shifting with the rapidly changing #business environment. Wealthy families are expanding their interests into new areas and becoming more dynamic and independent as they seek to reduce costs, improve governance and reporting, consider alternative #investments, and ensure inter-generational wealth preservation. With this shift has come rapidly changing expectations of what is required from their banking partners.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/francoisbotha/2020/05/19/four-strategies-that-banks-can-use-to-position-for-family-offices/#6b52555a72cb

Today, private banks are able to identify, target and reach niche family office and high net worth client segments. Along with strategic service design, banks can create a well-differentiated, bespoke offering and build strong client relationships.

07/10/2020

Chelsea Clinton is reportedly in the 'very early stages' of forming her own venture capital firm

Chelsea Clinton is reportedly entering the #venturecapital scene.
That's according to Axios' Kia Kokalitcheva and Dan Primack, who reported Thursday morning that Clinton is in the "very early stages" of forming a new #fund called Metrodora Ventures, named after one of the first women to write a medical text.
Axios reports that Clinton is still determining whether she wants to become a full-time #VC, but noted that the name of the fund was registered in April, there's a draft pitch deck being passed around, and Metrodora Ventures has its own Twitter account, created in July.
https://www.businessinsider.com/chelsea-clinton-venture-capital-firm-metrodora-ventures-report-2020-7

The firm is called Metrodora Ventures, named after one of the first women to write a medical text, according to Axios.

07/09/2020

Swiss pension funds await green light on motion to up infra allocation

Swiss #pension #funds are awaiting for a final decision on a motion that would increase their ability to increase their investments in infrastructure.
Thomas Weibel, the former member of the Green Liberal Group (GL), proposed a motion in 2015 to split infrastructure #investments from the broader category of alternative investments in pension funds’ asset allocations, as it is stipulated in the regulation for occupational pensions (BVV 2). #pensionfunds
https://www.ipe.com/news/swiss-pension-funds-await-green-light-on-motion-to-up-infra-allocation/10046780.article

The investment limit would be increased to 25% in total - 10% for infrastructure plus 15% for other alternative investments

07/09/2020

Sovereign Funds Investing In Energy, Communications Sectors To Get Tax Exemptions

#SovereignFunds Investing In Energy, Communications Sectors To Get Tax Exemptions
#investment #tax #energy #funds
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/economy-finance/sovereign-funds-investing-in-energy-communications-sectors-to-get-tax-exemptions
Copyright © BloombergQuint

The notification will come into effect from April 1, 2021.

07/07/2020

The Emperor Has No Clothes! Are Investors Misinformed About Private Equity Returns?

Have #PrivateEquity Returns Mirrored Public Equity Returns?
One recent study that has sparked debate was published in June by Ludovic Phalippou, a professor of financial #economics at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School. In An Inconvenient Fact: Private Equity Returns & The Billionaire Factory, Phalippou makes an unconventional case: that the #investment returns of private equity funds net of fees have mirrored those of public equity indices from 2006 through the end of 2019.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/peternesvold/2020/07/07/the-emperor-has-no-clothes-are-investors-misinformed-about-private-equity-returns/#4451dc99471c

A new study from Oxford University builds upon growing research that calls into question whether investors understand their private equity investments.

07/04/2020

Happy 4th of July! Enjoy your holiday!

07/04/2020

ftalphaville.ft.com

#Venturecapital is an industry that’s got used to being in the line of fire.
Whether it’s the outrageous #wealth it creates for its largely white male employees, the questionable sources of its #capital or the sometimes comical failures of the ventures it funds, the media loves to dunk on those that invest in high-growth #startups that aim to change the world.

https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2020/06/30/1593527567000/Venture-capital-and-the-issue-of-building-things-we-need/

07/02/2020

​Danish pension funds can weather big price falls, says FSA

Despite suffering major #investment losses at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, #pensionfunds in Denmark are now well-capitalised enough to handle serious price falls in both #equities and #bonds, according to the #financial regulator.
In its latest risk report, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) said pension companies and their customers had been hit by major share price losses at the beginning of the #pandemic, denting solvency levels for providers with guaranteed products – as well hitting the value of customer savings in non-guaranteed products.
https://www.ipe.com/danish-pension-funds-can-weather-big-price-falls-says-fsa/10046638.article

Watchdog to probe pension firms' property portfolio valuations this year

07/01/2020

Sovereign funds pile into venture capital investments in 2020

#Sovereignwealthfunds have participated in $17 billion of #venturecapital deals so far this year, already more than the entirety of 2019, as their appetite for long-term investment appears undimmed by the coronavirus outbreak. The #investments are against a backdrop of a generally subdued deal-making environment across the venture capital industry in the aftermath of the #pandemic.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-swf-investment-venture-capital/sovereign-funds-pile-into-venture-capital-investments-in-2020-idUSKBN2402B0

Sovereign wealth funds have participated in $17 billion of venture capital deals so far this year, already more than the entirety of 2019, as their appetite for long-term investment appears undimmed by the coronavirus outbreak.

07/01/2020

Sports are back on the pitch. So is private equity — and the competition is heating up

After months of eerie silence on the pitch, sport has finally restarted. But #privateequity never stopped. Buyout groups have kept their hand in the game, and have been feverishly snapping up sports assets.
CVC Capital Partners, Bain Capital and Advent International are reportedly going head-to-head to acquire a stake in Serie A, according to Bloomberg. KKR KKR, +2.35% is in discussions with Rugby Australia to take a stake that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. #investment #invest #market
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/sports-are-back-on-the-pitch-so-is-private-equity-and-the-competition-is-heating-up-2020-06-30

Buyout groups are scouting for bargains among teams and leagues that are battling with the impact of COVID-19.

06/29/2020

How the super rich invested during the covid-19 pandemic

#Familyoffices often make headlines for their #investments in startups or #privateequity.
Family offices typically advised their clients to increase gold allocation towards the end of 2019.
The covid-19-driven market fall has likely resulted in unrealized losses in some of the client portfolios.
https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/how-the-super-rich-invested-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-11593407946815.html

Family offices typically advised their clients to increase gold allocation towards the end of 2019..The covid-19-driven market fall has likely resulted in unrealized losses in some of the client portfolios.

06/27/2020

Tim O’Reilly makes a persuasive case for why venture capital is starting to do more harm than good – TechCrunch

“Below, we’re pulling out parts of that conversation that may be of interest to readers who are either debating raising venture capital, debating raising more #venturecapital, and even those who have been turned away from VCs and perhaps dodged a bullet in the process. At a minimum, O’Reilly — who bootstrapped his own company, O’Reilly Media, 42 years ago and says it now produces “a couple hundred million dollars in #revenue” yearly — provides a lot of food for thought.”

https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/26/tim-oreilly-makes-a-persuasive-case-for-why-venture-capital-is-starting-to-do-more-harm-than-good/

It's part of structural inequality in our society, where we're building businesses that are optimized for their financial return rather than their return to society.

06/25/2020

Rainy day hastens sovereign wealth funds' refocus to home

Famed for snapping up glitzy #realestate and stakes in troubled international banks during the global #financial crisis, #sovereignwealthfunds are investing more at home, a trend set to accelerate in the wake of the economic carnage wrought by #COVID19.
Some of these state-owned entities, such as Singapore's Temasek Holdings, already acted more as development #funds aimed at supporting their countries' #economies, but many of them are considered "rainy day" funds - meaning they will have a big role in helping governments to manage the fallout from the #pandemic. #invest #investment #economy #LDJCapital
https://whtc.com/news/articles/2020/jun/25/rainy-day-hastens-sovereign-wealth-funds-refocus-to-home/1033209/?refer-section=business

By Tom Arnold LONDON (Reuters) - Famed for snapping up glitzy real estate and stakes in troubled international banks during the global financial crisis, sovereign wealth funds are investing more at home, a trend set to accelerate in the wake of the economic carnage wrought by COVID-19. Some of these...

06/24/2020

Korea Investment Corp. sticks with equities, looks to U.S.

South Korea's $157 billion #sovereignwealthfund may add to its #equity holdings if there's another shock in global #markets due to increases in #coronavirus infections.
"If there is a second wave, we obviously reconsider asset allocation," said Heenam Choi, chairman and CEO of Korea #Investment Corp., in an interview. "If there is another market shock, we might slightly, maybe further rebalance our asset allocation toward equities because you might see further potential in the equity markets."
https://www.pionline.com/sovereign-wealth-funds/korea-investment-corp-sticks-equities-looks-us

Korea Investment Corp. may add to its equity holdings if there's another shock in global markets due to increases in coronavirus infections.

06/23/2020

Opinion | Bad Economy? Unleash Private Equity

About $3 trillion of #coronavirus relief approved by Congress helped the economy survive the #pandemic, but what happens when the #funds run out? With 40 million people out of work, it is time to unleash the power of #privateequity.
Private-equity firms are sitting on $2.5 trillion of “dry powder,” or uninvested funds, according to Bain & Co.’s Global Private Equity Report published earlier this year. Private-equity firms have been stockpiling cash amid stiff competition, rising #asset prices and worsening economic conditions....
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bad-economy-unleash-private-equity-11592770643

Firms maligned as ‘vampires’ in fact save jobs and businesses.

06/23/2020

How are Family Offices Restructuring Their Portfolios Due to Covid-19

How are #FamilyOffices Restructuring Their Portfolios Due to Covid-19
The months ahead will most probably be quite volatile and dynamic
Since the worldwide outbreak of the #coronavirus #pandemic over the past couple of months, #businesses globally have almost come to a standstill. It will be a while before the world recovers from the economic shockwaves caused by the pandemic.
The months ahead will most probably be quite volatile and dynamic. While it is still a little early to predict the economic fallout from the shock, #economies of developing nations will face greater challenges before they get better as compared to developed economies.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/350015

The months ahead will most probably be quite volatile and dynamic

06/22/2020

“The power of a dad in a child’s life is unmatched.” —Justin Ricklefs

06/20/2020

Gates Foundation vets form global health-focused venture capital fund Adjuvant Capital

The Gates Foundation is best known for its philanthropy, but it has also spawned a #venturecapital #fund whose mission is to show that investing in global health care issues can also yield returns.
Driving the news: Adjuvant Capital, founded by veterans of the Gates Foundation-sponsored Global Health Investment Fund, is raising a fund that will be at least $200 million, according to SEC filings.

https://www.axios.com/adjuvant-capital-global-health-venture-fund-595c32d3-b1bd-4162-9fc5-86fe5f736b45.html

They're betting they can get investment returns from fighting diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.

06/19/2020

Sovereign wealth funds could increase equality in a post-COVID world

For decades, global #economic #leaders touted the benefits of globalization, such as increased cross-border trade or reduced global inequalities. The 2010s, however, saw a rise in political nationalism, as the reduction in global economic inequality had led to an increase in much national inequality. As a result, globalization had become an easy target with free trade deals painted as an evil spectre meant to steal your job. The fact that a trade deal could result in job losses, can be better attributed to weak social systems unable to cope with the brunt of demand for new job opportunities than opening the global economy. As the world explores the changes needed for a “great reset” – as set forth by Professor Klaus Schwab – a top priority must be to allow for proper and equitable access to financial markets.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/sovereign-wealth-funds-could-increase-equality-in-a-post-covid-world/

Equitable access to financial markets is critical in order to achieve a ‘great reset’ after the coronavirus pandemic.