Wylie Fernyhough discusses the structural differences between closed-end mid-market GP stakes funds and perpetual mega-funds.
Assertion Supported
Fund performance quartiles remain exactly the same after GP stake sales
“Performance of the fund, and when we looked at this, we looked at private equity, credit, and real estate, and effectively, the proportion of top quartile, second quartile, et cetera, funds is the exact same before and after. I mean, there's a marginal shift. …”
Assertion Supported
Fund sizes and AUM do not accelerate after selling a GP stake
“On the AUM side, I was actually surprised to see that step ups and AUM growth didn't expand at the same rate that I thought it would. So step ups actually were the same, if not slightly lower after selling a stake.”
Insight
GP stakes investors recoup capital if the manager raises one subsequent fund
“But if you're able to at least get that second fund in after buying a stake, you're pretty much guaranteed to get your money back just off management fees and some of the maybe in ground carry.”
Insight
LPs bought GP stakes to share in economics they helped create
“I think in general it was that strategic element of there were a lot of large We'll say institutions that were looking to have a closer relationship. And so whether it was a large pension looking to get a better allocation and just economic relationship with, …”
Opinion
Mid-market GP stakes hit a sweet spot at 20% to 25% gross IRR
“When you look more at the mid-market, you're looking at 20 to 25% gross IRRs, and again, I think that's kind of the sweet spot, because you're getting paid a decent amount more, especially on the cash flow yield side with the lower pricing, but there's also mo…”
Insight
Growth equity is the logical asset allocation bucket for GP stakes
“But in general, if you had to place it in one, I think growth equity does make some sense. These are minority stake investments typically going to be used for some sort of growth action.”