Episode summary
Goldman Sachs Petershill's Robert Hamilton Kelly - riding the waves of change in GP stakes
Alt Goes Mainstream
· · Hosts: Michael Sidgmore · Guests: Robert Hamilton Kelly
Summary
Robert Hamilton Kelly argues that GP stakes are a way to buy into the economics of high-quality alternative asset managers, not just their funds. Petershill typically takes minority positions in established and newer managers, with Kelly emphasizing that the appeal comes from long-lockup fee income, carried interest potential, and the ability to support firms as they scale, internationalize, or professionalize their businesses. He says the model works best when capital is used to strengthen the firm, not as a knee-jerk liquidity event.
Kelly makes the case that Petershill’s advantage comes from Goldman Sachs’ data and relationships across primaries, secondaries, and allocations. That lets the team underwrite managers with unusually deep visibility into track records, portfolio companies, LP bases, and likely future earnings. He argues public market investors lack that level of insight, which is why private ownership of these businesses can be priced differently.
He also says the industry is evolving rather than consolidating away smaller winners. Larger platforms can serve broader client bases and the wealth channel, while elite mid-market firms can still produce stronger returns and remain capacity constrained. On liquidity, he sees more options emerging through listed vehicles, evergreen structures, and secondary buyers, making the GP stakes market more mature than it was even five years ago.
Key takeaways
- Kelly says Petershill underwrites GP stakes with unusually deep data from Goldman Sachs’ primaries, secondaries, and allocation businesses.
- He argues that many GP stakes deals are primary capital raises meant to fund growth, not founders cashing out.
- Kelly believes larger alternative managers can win by serving the wealth channel, but elite mid-market firms still have room to outperform.
- He says private-market valuation should focus on current earnings and fee durability, not just headline fund returns.
- Kelly sees liquidity improving through listed vehicles, evergreen structures, and a more developed secondaries market.
Notable quotes
“We sit there with a huge privilege of data”
“what these these transactions are generally doing is raising capital into a business, not taking money out of a business”
“the client always comes first”
How the episode opens
This episode of the Alco Mainstream podcast is brought to you by Ultimus, a leading full-ervice 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. Ultimus is a leading full-ervice fund administrator for asset managers in both private and public markets, offering 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 everchanging 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. Trusted by institutions, investment consultants, registered investment adviserss, state governments, and fund managers, Ultimus provides solutions for nearly every investment structure in the marketplace.
Visit www.ultimusf fundsolutions.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 g har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har har harris at ultimus funundsolutions.com. We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream. Everybody gets a piece.
We're going mainream. Everybody's going to eat. We're going mainream.
All my family see. See you on mainream. We're going mainream.
From Wall Street to Melrose Avenue. We're going mainream to venture capitalists to athletes to creators to the person who has collected trading cards. We're going to collision of culture and finance.
We're going. Welcome back to the Alco's mainstream podcast. Today's conversation dives into the current state of private markets and GP stakes through the lens of a partner at one of the leading GP stakes firms in the industry.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- gp stakes
- private markets
- liquidity
- alternative asset managers
- wealth channel
Companies and tickers mentioned
- GS
- Goldman Sachs
- Petershill Group
- Clearlake
- Francisco Partners
- Permira
- Accel-KKR
- General Catalyst
- Kayne Anderson Real Estate
- Kennedy Lewis
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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Alt Goes Mainstream, this episode and its artwork belong to Michael Sidgmore. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
