The Professional Investment Podcast · 2026-06-11 · 30 min
James Lawrence, CIO of Smart Pension, is our guest for episode six of series six of The Profession Investment Podcast. He chose Professional Pensions story that there’s no guarantee DC megafunds will lead to higher returns. We discuss how there is currently a tendency to think bigger is always better in pensions schemes. But any investment professional knows size can also hinder investment returns - there are good reasons asset managers gate funds at certain sizes. If asset owners want to invest in smaller companies and smaller asset managers, one solution is to build third-party fund of funds who can select those specialist asset managers. Fees are obviously an important consideration in this scenario as private assets are already more expensive and fund of funds add an extra layer of fees. Kept a lid on these costs is vital. James unpacked the different ways asset owners can invest in private equity and the different pros and cons of primary and secondary investing as well as co-investing.
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