Hamilton Lane’s Co-CEO Juan Delgado Discusses Private Markets and Investment Trends

Hamilton Lane’s Co-CEO Juan Delgado Discusses Rising Trend of High-Net-Worth Individuals Investing in Private Markets

The global private wealth market is on the rise, with high-net-worth individuals increasingly turning to alternative investments for steady returns. According to Hamilton Lane’s Co-CEO Juan Delgado, the number of wealthy individuals allocating capital to private markets has increased by 73% year-on-year as of the end of 2023, and this upward trend is expected to accelerate in the coming years.

During a visit to Seoul in March, Delgado highlighted the rapid growth of private wealth in South Korea, attributing it to investors’ increasing awareness of open-ended funds for individuals. Hamilton Lane, a global investment firm managing over $120 billion in assets across all private markets, has been a major player in the Korean market, attracting funds from local institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.

One of the firm’s key offerings in Korea is the Global Private Assets Fund (GPA), an evergreen fund with an open-ended structure that provides flexibility for investments and regular liquidity options. With a minimum initial commitment of $230,000, the GPA has attracted high-net-worth investors looking for tailored products to meet their needs.

Hamilton Lane differentiates itself with a multi-manager platform that allows investors to access a broad range of global partners and companies, providing well-balanced and diversified portfolios without double management fees. The firm’s key strategy for private equity focuses on co-investing in mid-market companies with a $3 billion enterprise value or less, as they offer nimble and flexible growth opportunities compared to larger corporations.

Delgado also highlighted Hamilton Lane’s focus on two fast-growing industries – healthcare and business services. The firm’s healthcare portfolio includes medical consumables and devices, while its business services exposure covers supply chain automation and operational efficiency software. Delgado emphasized the resilience and high value-add components of these industries, which are often overlooked in the private markets.

While acknowledging the overheated market for artificial intelligence ventures, Delgado advised investors to maintain balanced portfolios based on their age, life plan, and risk-return profiles. With historical outperformance of private markets over public markets, Hamilton Lane remains optimistic about the year ahead, as investors gain confidence in the US economy and the Federal Reserve’s rate policy in the mid-to-long term.

As investors continue to flood into private markets, Delgado sees a revival in the markets with robust earnings of companies expected this year. Despite remaining risks from geopolitical events, the sentiment among clients is shifting towards a more risk-on approach, signaling a positive outlook for private markets in the near future.