CONTEXT
A very large international asset manager based in Europe, with assets under management close to €1 trillion, was preparing to launch a new GP stakes strategy (taking minority stakes in fund managers themselves). It could build on long-standing expertise and deep integration within the GP ecosystem, but faced three critical challenges that required careful positioning:
- A new strategy for the platform: However strong the wider platform, LPs look closely at any new strategy. The team had to show that its position in the GP ecosystem would give it access to the best managers, disciplined selection and genuine value creation.
- Proven in the US, little known in Europe: Many European LPs still needed to understand what GP stakes are, how they generate returns and where they fit in a private markets allocation. Only then could they consider a specific fund.
- A differentiated profile to establish: Beyond explaining the asset class, the fund had to show why this manager was best placed to capture the opportunity. It also had to show that its integration within the GP ecosystem was a real advantage for GPs and LPs alike.
APPROACH
Accellency designed and wrote a white paper specifically for an LP audience. Rather than explaining how GP stakes investing works, it addressed why the strategy is relevant to LPs, where it fits in an asset allocation and how it contributes to return and diversification. It followed a top-down structure, moving from the macro opportunity to asset allocation and then to GP selection.
Accellency ran workshops with the investment team to agree on the key messages. It reviewed existing fundraising materials, track record and market data, and interviewed both the investment leads and external contributors.
Four editorial choices shaped the document:
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- Europe as the next frontier: The US was presented as the blueprint for the strategy’s success. Europe was presented as an early-mover opportunity, with similar fundamentals, fewer active GP stakers and a large pool of mid-market GPs yet to sell a stake.
- Return and diversification: GP stakes were framed around three pillars: private equity-style returns, private credit-like yield and secondaries-like diversification. This showed LPs where the strategy fits in their portfolio and what it adds.
- A differentiated GP selection playbook: The manager’s integration within the GP ecosystem was turned into a clear four-step approach: sourcing, selection, execution and post-investment support. This positioned it as a long-term strategic partner to GPs rather than a passive provider of capital.
- LP and market voices: Interviews with senior institutional investors (including the anchor LP), a senior investment banker and the founder of a portfolio GP, together with a portfolio case study, brought perspectives from beyond the team and concrete evidence of the playbook in action.
The document opened with a CEO foreword and an executive summary for time-pressed readers. It was data-rich, highly visual and produced in the manager’s graphic identity, ready to be shared with existing and prospective LPs.
RESULTS
The fund reached its hard cap, an outstanding outcome for a new strategy in an asset class still little known to European LPs.
The white paper was a critical catalyst for this result. It became a major engagement tool with existing and prospective LPs, clearly establishing the investment thesis, the value of GP stakes as an asset class and why this manager was best placed to capture the opportunity in Europe.
