Raising capital from family offices
Direct Private Equity Investor Mandate Interview with Nadine
Direct Private Equity Investments Investor Mandate Interview
Founders and fund managers who want to understand how an adviser to family offices screens teams and matches deals to different family mandates.
What stood out
- Mandates differ from family to family. Nadine says her families do not know each other. Some take early risk and use leverage, while others want cash flow businesses that are buttoned up.
- Team and thesis come first. She looks for an experienced team, a solid investment thesis and experience in exactly what they plan to do, either in a fund or a deal.
- Keep a small risk sandbox. Families can have a place to play and lose money. The sandbox should not be 25% of the estate, and it needs active control.
- Aim for steady, boring progress. Nadine says meeting objectives every month and every quarter is how people keep and grow wealth. She contrasts this with hoping to reach the goal in 5 to 10 years.
- Scattered portfolios need fixing. Many requests now involve portfolios spread across wealth groups that do not fit together. Nadine's firm reviews them asset by asset and rolls them up, on a bespoke basis.
The short version
A family office adviser named Nadine explains how her firm works with families that do not know each other and hold very different mandates. The firm runs a hedge fund and also helps families with portfolio construction, risk management and direct deals. Some families invest in emerging markets, others in United States real estate, energy or infrastructure. Nadine says introductions to deals carry no fee.
Nadine describes a sandbox, a small part of a portfolio where a family can take risks and accept losses. She also reports growing requests to fix portfolios spread across several wealth managers, reviewed asset by asset. Richard C. Wilson adds that consistency builds conviction, pointing to managers with 14 years of trading or 31 years in senior living.
Facts from this talk
- Nadine's firm runs a hedge fund and manages capital for family offices and institutions in both hedged and long only strategies.
- Nadine warns that the risk sandbox should not be 25% of a family's estate.
- Richard C. Wilson cites trust built by seeing someone trade for 14 years or work in senior living for 31 years.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Direct Private Equity Investments Investor Mandate Interview. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around introduction fee rules, fund offering structure and investor eligibility rules. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
In their words
"You want to be, you know, kind of boring, like every month, every quarter, meeting your objectives. That's really how people keep their wealth and then grow their wealth."
"What you don't want is that sandbox area to be 25% of your estate."
"Consistency is what leads to conviction, in terms of just having a solid team."
Related questions
- Do family offices invest in funds or only direct deals?Family offices do both.
- What deal sizes do family offices typically write?There is no single typical size.
- Do family offices co-invest alongside other investors?Yes, many family offices invest alongside other investors, and they often feel more comfortable when another respected investor is already in the deal.
Questions about this video
What does Nadine look for in a deal or fund?
She looks for an experienced team, a really solid investment thesis and experience in doing exactly what they plan to do. She also weighs the asymmetry of the risk profile and the duration of the capital lock up.
Does her firm charge for introductions?
No. Nadine says there is no fee or anything charged. Her firm makes an introduction when it believes the deal benefits the families it represents.
What is the sandbox idea?
The sandbox is the part of a portfolio where a family can play and lose money. Nadine says it should not grow to 25% of the estate and should be actively managed.
Put this into practice with the family office fit check. See all raising capital from family offices resources.
