Episode summary
‘Complexity is Our Friend’: James Brocklebank on Advent's Private Equity Strategy
Exchanges (Goldman Sachs)
· · 34 min · Guests: James Brocklebank
Summary
James Brocklebank argues that private equity can thrive in difficult markets because complexity creates mispricing, especially in Europe and other fragmented regions. He says Advent’s edge comes from staying close to local markets, leaning into carve-outs and other transformational deals, and pairing that on-the-ground presence with deep sector expertise.
He contrasts Europe’s more relationship-driven and binary financing environment with the deeper U.S. capital markets, and says current macro conditions have made exit planning more important from the start of an investment. Advent is now thinking harder about who the eventual buyer will be, favoring strategic businesses with multiple exit paths over single-threaded IPO outcomes.
A major theme is AI, which Brocklebank sees as both a tool and an investment lens. Advent has built internal AI capabilities, including an “IC robot” trained on 13 years of investment committee materials, while also pushing portfolio companies toward real operating transformation rather than surface-level AI projects. He also stresses culture, humility, and human judgment as the durable advantages in a world increasingly shaped by AI.
Key takeaways
- Brocklebank says Advent believes “complexity is our friend” because fragmented markets like Europe create more opportunities for operational value creation and carve-outs.
- He says the pace of realizations has fallen from about 20% of starting NAV annually in the past to 8% to 12% now, versus roughly 15% needed for the model to work well.
- Brocklebank says Advent thinks about exit buyers at the start, preferring strategic businesses with multiple exit options over “single threaded” IPO situations.
- He says Advent has trained an AI “IC robot” on 13 years of investment committee papers to challenge assumptions and prompt better discussion, not to replace judgment.
- Brocklebank says Advent remains a pure-play private equity firm because specialization and deep sector focus are central to its edge.
Notable quotes
“complexity is our friend. And we lean in, in times like this. And the best deals tend to be made in non-benign conditions, if you like”
“We love that complexity. Complexity is your friend when it comes to operation value creation and trying to drive alpha”
“Today, they're getting between 8 and 12 percent of starting NAV each year. And really for the model to work properly, it needs to be at least 15 percent”
“we have made the definitive choice to stay absolutely focused on private equity. And that way, all of our time, attention, and effort can go into what makes the bicycle go faster”
“we've created something called the IC robot. And this is an AI that has been trained on all of our investment committee papers over the last 13 years”
How the episode opens
This is just one more challenging time in a line of challenging times. But complexity is our friend. And we lean in, in times like this.
And the best deals tend to be made in non-benign conditions, if you like. Where at the biggest opportunities for private equity investors now? I'm Alison Mass, chairman of investment banking in Goldman Sachs's Global Banking & Markets group and your host for this episode of Goldman Sachs Exchanges - Great Investors.
Today, I'm sitting down with James Brocklebank, who is the co-chair of Advent, a global private equity investor, where he also co-heads the European business. Well, welcome to Great Investors, James. Really thrilled to have you here.
Thank you so much for having me. It's a real privilege. Thank you.
So, you've been at Advent now for 30 years? Just under 30 years, yeah. Which is spectacular.
Thank you. And thanks to a paper job listing in the FT, The Financial Times, I heard. Yes.
And I heard that you still have that listing in your office. I do. I have it on my wall.
It was given to me for my 25th anniversary at Advent. They found it. An actual piece of paper.
That's fantastic. It's framed on the wall. And it does mean a lot to me because it's a reminder of how random life can be and how non-linear one's career can be.
And it was interesting because when I was at Barings, in the first year or so I did like an internship sort of stage, if you like. Like an apprenticeship in their private equity business, which was called Barings Capital Investors. It was on Park Lane in London.
I really enjoyed it. So, I had an inkling that the private equity was interesting and would appeal.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- private equity strategy
- market complexity
- investment opportunities
- advent co chair perspective
Companies and tickers mentioned
- GS
- Advent
- Goldman Sachs
Watch the episode
Watch “‘Complexity is Our Friend’: James Brocklebank on Advent's Private Equity Strategy” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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