So you want to raise a fund? Here’s what it takes.
How first-time managers raised two funds totaling $1.5 billion in a brutal environment…
Resumes:
Blackstone Head of Acquisitions and a TPG partner
Deep institutional LP relationships:
Direct access to pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and asset managers, allowing them to secure large commitments early. No placement agents.
Strong, experienced teams:
Recruited senior partners with blue-chip backgrounds.
Investment focus and pipeline:
Investors granted discretion because each fund was focused. Town Lane on being nimble and in less crowded areas. Greykite on European real estate.
Large, high-profile anchor investors:
Greykite secured $300M+ from Leucadia (Jefferies), Wafra (Kuwait’s pension fund), and later a €50M commitment from Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Track records:
LPs viewed their prior experience as a key de-risking factor.
[See PERE’s recent article, “Next Contenders 2025: First-time managers led by experienced executives,” for much more detail on how these two defied the odds.]
COMMENTS