We have identified private markets as a key tool for family office portfolios, but what are the practical challenges of investing in them?

In a paper published earlier this year, we constructed a series of hypothetical portfolios optimized for family offices with different risk appetites. One of the themes common to all the recommended portfolios was a higher-than-baseline allocation to private markets. Alongside this indicator from our quantitative modelling, our conversations with family offices suggest a desire to take “a more active approach in private markets.”

However, investing in private markets can be more complex and administratively demanding than investing in public markets. It takes longer to put an allocation to work, for example, and the long-term and illiquid nature of the investments creates significant uncertainty as to when capital will be returned.

In this paper, we present three hypothetical family offices that each want to achieve something different with private markets. We explore the issues and challenges that come with these diverse objectives and suggest some potential solutions.

Executive Summary

  • Private markets can help to enhance a portfolio’s estimated return; a simultaneous shift from fixed income to liquid alternatives can help further enhance diversification and prevent an increase in overall portfolio volatility.
  • The distinct return and cash-flow chacteristics of primary funds, secondary funds and co-investments mean that different blends can meet investors’ diverse return and cash-flow objectives; sophisticated cash-flow and return modelling can help find the appropriate blend.
  • A new arrival to the market, the Evergreen Fund, can provide a useful new option to investors looking to mitigate the j-curve and achieve an administratively less burdensome, self-funding private markets program.
  • Investors who wish to bring some or all of their private markets program in-house should start by selecting the right investment partner; we believe a track record of providing clients with tailored education and access to data and General Partners is a sign of a good partner for making this transition to in-house management.

Adding an Evergreen Fund Can Speed-up, Enhance and Sustain Nav Growth

Hypothetical four-year commitment plans

 Mapping the Private Markets Journey for Family Offices

Stochastic projections of NAV, percentile

 Mapping the Private Markets Journey for Family Offices

Commitment Plan 1: Traditional Funds (USDmn)

 Mapping the Private Markets Journey for Family Offices

Source: Neuberger Berman, Cambridge Associates, Burgiss, Thomson ONE. Analytics as of April 30, 2024. Asset values, capital calls and distributions are projected using a Monte Carlo simulation model. The input and assumptions used in the model are based on information from Cambridge Associates and Burgiss, covering more than 30 years of private markets industry data, as well as Neuberger Berman proprietary data. Cash flows represent the pooled cash flows of all private markets funds that report performance data to Cambridge Associates and Burgiss and are net of all underlying fund fees and expenses. The industry performance assumptions used in the analysis are based on long-term averages from the Cambridge Associates and Burgiss databases. Commitment Plan 1 is a projection of a portfolio of traditional private equity funds, including primary, secondary and co-investment funds. Commitment Plan 2 is a projection of a blend of a portfolio of traditional private equity funds and a typical Evergreen Fund. For the Evergreen Fund, the model assumes an 85% allocation to private equity returning 18% and a 15% allocation to liquid assets returning 4%; a 0.50% management fee (seed investor rate); and a 12.5% carried interest rate. Investing entails risks, including possible loss of principal.