Ermitage Alternatives Afternoon March 30, 2023
Nordic’s biggest investor event in private equity – Ermitage Alternatives Afternoon - was arranged on March 30 with 300 investors attending. One of the most anticipated highlights of the day was the fireside chat between Blackstone President and COO, Jonathan Gray and Hamilton Lane Head of Global Investments, Andrew Schardt. As the two investors alone represent approximately 20% of the global alternative investments market, the event was unique even at a global scale. The program also included Hamilton Lane’s annual Market Overview presented by Andrew Schardt and Nina Kraus (Principal at Hamilton Lane), a VC & Growth Panel with Staffan Helgesson (General Partner at Creandum), John Lindfors (Co-Founder of DST Global), Miguel Luiña (Head of VC and Growth at Hamilton Lane) and Timo Soininen (Co-Founder of Small Giant Games) and a Limited Partner Panel with Heikki Lehtonen (Chairman of University of Arts Foundation), Markus Pauli (Head of Alternatives at KEVA Pension Fund) and Laura Wickström (Deputy CIO at Veritas Pension Insurance Company).
Jerome Bouix, Managing Partner at Ermitage Partners, commented: “We are truly honored that we had both Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative investment firm and Hamilton Lane, the largest private markets fund investor in the world sharing their thoughts on the market. We are also excited that we could present Hamilton Lane’s Market Overview live for our LP-only audience as the presentation is one of the industry's most anticipated overviews due to the vast data Hamilton Lane has access to. The two panels consisted of seasoned professionals with extensive experience in the private markets providing interesting insights and benchmarks for the local investor base. We are thankful for each panelist for sharing their unique insights on the private markets.”
Key takeaways from the Market Overview included:
Private markets have historically outperformed public markets across market cycles. Private equity outperformance tends to be at its greatest level during periods of more mediocre or negative public market returns.
Differences in sector composition between public indices and private equity funds, resilient operational performance of private companies and private market valuation discounts compared to publicly traded assets are among several factors why valuations of current portfolio companies have been on realistic levels and why private equity has continued to deliver positive returns, in big contrast with public market. In 2022, companies were exited, on average, at a premium to holding value proving that valuations have been accurate.
The relationship with Hamilton Lane and the Ermitage team dates back to 2017 when the first Club Fund program was launched. Today, more than $1.5 billion has been raised by the annual Club Fund programs.
“We are very pleased with the partnership we have built with Hamilton Lane and are very excited being able to expand the offering into other private equity strategies in addition to the large buyout segment. The interest in venture capital has exceeded our expectations and the first generation of the program was closed well above target size last year. This year we are thrilled to widen the platform by including a new strategy, growth equity.” said Mr. Bouix.
For further information, please contact:
Jerome Bouix, Managing Partner, Ermitage Partners
jerome@ermitage-partners.com
+46 731 461 132
About Ermitage Partners:
Ermitage Partners is an independent, partner-owned, Nordic-based fundraising boutique with a team of 40+ people. We advise leading private market managers on raising capital from institutional investors and large family offices in the Nordics. With a strong knowledge of the Nordic LP universe and investor preferences, we work with global fund managers as their local collaboration partner.
