At the latest edition of Private Market Perspectives in Geneva, KAPITAL welcomed Julien Ménard, Partner and Head of Private Markets at HBS, and Giovanni Martinez, Private Equity & Venture Capital Lead at Novum Capital Partners.
The discussion offered a clear view into how some of the leading multifamily offices build, scale, and manage their private markets portfolios, and how operational execution has become as important as investment selection itself.
A changing landscape for private markets
Both speakers agreed that private markets have taken on a far more strategic role within family offices over the past decade. At HBS, private markets were once approached through occasional deal opportunities sourced via placement agents. Today, they represent a structured, institutionalized program anchored in long-term relationships with leading GPs.
Julien noted two important structural shifts:
1. The rise of evergreen funds.
Ten years ago, evergreen private equity products were rare. Today, they are central to the offering of many large global managers. Their flexibility, lower minimums, and bankability have broadened the investor base significantly.
2. Democratization and increased understanding of the asset class.
Clients are better educated and more comfortable with buyout strategies, which Julien emphasized remain the most rational foundation of a long-term program, despite the market’s fascination with venture and growth strategies.
Novum shares this conviction. Giovanni explained that their discretionary private markets program blends buyout primaries with secondaries to reduce the perception of illiquidity and deliver more accelerated visibility for newer families entering the asset class.
Client motivations: long-term horizons and behavioral benefits
Illiquidity can appear as a barrier, but in practice, it often becomes a feature.
Giovanni highlighted that many clients welcome the stability of private markets, where quarterly reporting detaches them from the daily volatility of public markets. Around 95 percent of Novum’s discretionary clients now participate consistently in private equity and venture.
Julien added that younger generations often show greater appetite for direct deals and private assets, but require guidance: “Illiquidity is a long-term story you must manage from beginning to end. If you enter without the right expectations, it turns against you quickly.”
The role of the advisor, he emphasized, is to align enthusiasm with realistic execution.
Access and relationships: a competitive advantage for multifamily offices
Access to high-quality managers remains one of the most important value drivers for family offices.
Julien described three elements that make relationship-building easier when the model is well structured:
• Multifamily offices at scale naturally open doors.
• Dedicated internal teams solve a coverage challenge for GPs who struggle to interface with private bankers.
• A proven ability to react quickly and reliably to co-investments increases credibility dramatically.
Today’s fundraising environment also benefits sophisticated LPs. Many GPs are raising smaller funds than originally planned but still syndicating the same level of co-investment equity, increasing access for high-quality partners.
Giovanni added that Novum maintains regular dialogue with 40–50 GPs through structured tracking, transparency, and disciplined processes. For them, reliability is essential: co-investments require 3–5 weeks, and opportunities with 24–48-hour deadlines are declined, especially in fast-moving sectors such as AI.
Operational realities and missed opportunities
Missed opportunities arise not only from fast-moving deals but also from structural constraints.
For HBS, the main limitation is capacity: “We receive a large number of co-investments. You cannot execute them all,” Julien said. Other opportunities are declined because HBS does not participate in co-underwriting, where LPs must commit capital pre-close with no flexibility.
Giovanni’s team sees missed opportunities primarily in high-velocity sectors with extremely short execution windows. Novum prioritizes diligence and disciplined timing over speed.
How KAPITAL helped HBS scale its private markets platform
A central point of the discussion was how execution reliability influences the ability to build GP relationships and scale a program. Here, KAPITAL played a meaningful role in HBS’s evolution.
Julien described the impact clearly:
1. Reliable execution is essential to credibility.
HBS must communicate realistic timelines to GPs—typically 3–7 weeks, depending on the project. With KAPITAL, those timelines became consistent and dependable across transactions.
2. KAPITAL’s ISIN-based structuring improved both speed and internal coordination.
Past experiences with other providers often lacked execution visibility. KAPITAL’s structured process gave HBS confidence that deals would close on time.
3. Reliable structuring strengthened GP relationships.
Being able to commit firmly, execute quickly, and avoid last-minute reversals improved HBS’s standing with top-tier managers.
Julien summarized it simply:
“If we start a project with KAPITAL, we know we can finish it in time. That reliability is critical for our relationships with GPs and for scaling our private markets program.”
This operational backbone directly enabled HBS to grow the volume and quality of its private market investments across clients.
Manager selection: consistency above all
Both speakers outlined the filters that matter most:
• Team stability and low turnover
• Consistency across fund size, pricing discipline, strategy, and track record
• Cross-referencing with advisors, former employees, and ecosystem players
• Sourcing quality, often tested through the GP’s relationship with M&A advisors
On first-time funds, both firms remain selective. While the market often perceives higher potential returns in emerging managers, family offices must focus on durability and risk-adjusted outcomes.
Strategy trends: buyout remains the anchor
While themes come in and out of fashion, both speakers stressed that buyouts remain the cornerstone of a well-constructed program.
Julien emphasized the importance of being countercyclical rather than reactive to hype cycles.
Novum currently anchors 80 percent of its private markets exposure in buyout strategies through primaries and secondaries, with venture and growth representing the remaining share.
Looking ahead: more tailoring for family offices
Over the next three years, both expect:
• Increased tailoring of products from GPs specifically for multifamily offices
• Continued expansion of evergreen structures
• More co-investment and sidecar vehicles focused on flexibility and access
• Greater engagement from large managers targeting private wealth channels
The ecosystem is moving toward more customization, more access, and more partnership-driven models.
Advice for family offices building a program
Two closing insights captured the essence of the discussion:
Giovanni:
“Maintain disciplined allocations, year after year. Build a program, not a series of isolated bets. And ensure strong operational processes—investment and administration must work together.”
Julien:
“There are no quick wins in private markets. If you rely on experienced managers, avoid fads, and build a durable foundation of quality GPs, the portfolio becomes a stabilizing force across cycles.”
The role of KAPITAL
KAPITAL supports asset and wealth managers by making private market allocations bankable, scalable, and operationally effortless. This includes:
• Structuring SPVs and feeder funds with ISIN codes
• Managing the entire legal, administrative, and operational process
• Delivering predictable 4–6 week execution timelines
• Enabling partners like HBS to scale without building internal infrastructure
As private wealth increasingly shapes the future of private markets, KAPITAL provides the platform that allows asset and wealth managers to focus on what matters most: selecting the right investments.
This article is part of KAPITAL’s Private Market Perspectives series.
For more information about upcoming editions in Geneva and Paris, please contact Elisabeth Sünder at elisabeth@kapital.inc.
