Australian Endowment
💸 $3B AUD endowment based in Australia is open to contrarian strategies and is looking for lower / middle market PE funds in the US.
The insights below come from a conversation with the senior investment team of a $B+ endowment based in Australia.
🧠 Investment Philosophy
Long-term planning and execution
Slightly contrarian, i.e., willing to offer capital when mainstream allocators are passing on specific strategies
📊 Portfolio Construction
30% public equities
30% private equity (incl. venture)
25% debt
10% multi-assets & derivatives
5% cash
🚀 PE & VC Portfolio
20 PE & VC managers, across 50+ funds (≈$10M - $20M checks)
(20% of PE portfolio is fund-of-funds)
5 VC funds (average $15M checks)
(includes a fund-of-funds)
🔮 Looking Forward
Trying to reduce fund-of-funds exposure in PE
Looking for lower / middle-market, US-based, generalist PE fund, ideally <$1B fund size
Open to healthcare and ESG-focused mandates
✍🏼 Lessons Learned
Build global network: Invest in developing deep (& global) relationships earlier. Do not rely on consultants.
Practice patience: Don’t be in a rush and don’t be afraid to say no. It’s ok to miss out.
Be selective: Not necessary to take all meetings. Have a balanced approach based on who made the introduction and allow for some serendipity.
Check references: People & culture are the most important investment criteria. Fund managers are great salespeople, so it’s critical to do reference checks.
🙏 Special thanks to the senior investor of this endowment for sharing their insights (shared with their permission, on the condition of anonymity).
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