Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today’s episode dives into the details of product innovation in private markets with a private equity veteran who has helped to pioneer a new investment structure and working with the wealth channel.
We sat down at KKR’s Hudson Yards office with Alisa Wood, a Partner and Co-CEO of KKR Private Equity Conglomerate LLC (K-PEC).
Alisa has been at KKR for over 20 years. She joined the firm in 2003 and is a Partner. She co-leads the firm’s innovative private equity open-ended, perpetual vehicles serving as the Co-CEO of KKR Private Equity Conglomerate LLC and as a member of the investment committee for the KKR Private Markets Equity Fund.
She was previously the Global Head of the Private Markets and Real Assets Strategies Group and looked after private equity, infrastructure, energy real assets, real estate, impact, growth equity, and customized products.
She sits on a number of the firm’s management and leadership committees, including the Risk & Operating Committee, the Democratized Private Equity Committee, the ESG Committee, and the Geopolitical Governance Committee.
Alisa and I had a fascinating and thought-provoking conversation about private markets and working with the wealth channel. We discussed:
Why and how KKR came up with the Conglomerate structure.
Why the devil is in the detail when evaluating evergreen fund structures.
Why dealflow is essential if a firm wants to have an evergreen strategy.
Why education is so critical when working with the wealth channel.
How investors can balance evergreens and closed-end funds.
The skillsets required to manage evergreen structures.
Why culture is so critical when building a high-performing and consistent investment business.
The role that private markets can play in a portfolio and why that matters in today’s markets.
Thanks Alisa for coming on the podcast to share your wisdom and expertise on private markets.
Clip #1: Resonating with the wealth channel and a port in the storm.
Clip #2: The winning formula.
A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions
This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency.
To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products.
Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at gharris@ultimusfundsolutions.com.
We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.
Show Notes
00:00 Introduction and Message from our Sponsor, Ultimus
01:55 Welcome to the Podcast
02:07 Introducing Alisa Wood
03:48 KKR's Office and Culture
05:10 The Importance of Culture and Collaboration at KKR
06:12 Alisa's Early Career in Private Equity
07:02 Evolution of Private Equity
08:41 Strategic Moves in Private Equity
13:02 Managing Evergreen Structures
13:07 Operational Complexity in Evergreen Funds
13:43 Deal Flow and Investment Strategies
19:38 Alignment and Collaboration at KKR
22:29 Evergreen Structures and Institutional Experience
25:35 Sales Cycle and Investor Relations
28:54 Employee Equity and Financial Literacy
31:03 Human Capital and Leadership
31:37 Empathy in Leadership
32:06 Building a Community
32:21 Building Community at Scale
33:07 Understanding Investor Needs
33:17 Facilitating Connections
33:35 Addressing Hard Topics
34:04 KKR's Approach to Community Building
34:23 Evolution of KKR's Business Strategy
35:38 Importance of Learning from Mistakes
37:23 Integrating Macro Perspectives
39:18 Strategic vs. Tactical Approaches
39:38 Innovating Portfolio Construction
40:01 Challenges in Private Markets
42:25 The Role of Evergreen Structures
43:10 Balancing Manager Selection and Scale
46:08 Family-Owned Businesses and Evergreens
49:16 Success in the Wealth Channel
50:50 Investor Psychology and Evergreen Funds
54:00 Growing the Evergreen Business
55:02 Diversification and Accessibility
56:03 Future Innovations in Evergreen Space
56:45 Importance of Education and Community
57:54 Industry-Wide Collaboration
58:51 Educating on Private Markets
01:00:58 Personal Reflections on Private Equity
01:01:42 Real-World Impact of Private Markets
01:02:40 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.
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