Episode summary
Inside a PE Fund Ranked #1 in IRR, DPI, and TVPI
How I Invest With David Weisburd
· · Hosts: David Weisburd · Guests: Jesse D. Serventi, Atif Gilani
Summary
Renovus Capital Partners said it raised $875 million in a difficult fundraising market by combining timing, a strong exit record, and a strategy that resonated with LPs: buying founder-owned businesses in the lower middle market, especially sub-$10 million EBITDA companies, where purchase price discipline matters. The guests said their DPI had been strong when distributions were scarce across private equity, and that third-party rankings and track record visibility helped both fundraising and recruiting.
They argued that the real compounding advantage is talent density and firm-building, not just deal selection. The guests described Renovus’s evolution from three founders doing everything in fund one to a 45-person platform with a director of people and executive coaching. They said the firm has built a repeatable ecosystem of boomerang CEOs, founders, and investors who reinforce the brand and expand the network.
The conversation also focused on portfolio construction. Renovus starts with a small position, adds capital over time, keeps about 15 active positions per fund, and recycles capital so it can invest about 120% of LP commitments. The guests said longer holding periods, follow-on investing, and willingness to own great businesses for longer help improve both gross and net returns, while also letting them learn more about the business as they invest.
Key takeaways
- The guests said Renovus raised $875 million by pairing a strong exit record with a lower-middle-market strategy that LPs liked in a weak fundraising market.
- They argued that talent density is a key edge, citing a 45-person team, a director of people, and executive coaching as part of the firm’s compounding system.
- The guests said Renovus uses a small-initial-check, add-on-investing model and typically runs about 15 active positions per fund.
- They said recycling capital allows the firm to invest about 120% of LP commitments and narrow the gap between gross and net returns.
- The guests argued that holding strong businesses longer and avoiding forced exits can produce better outcomes than short fund-cycle optimization.
Notable quotes
“For us, it was a function of having the right time, the right strategy, and the right team”
“I think that has really compounded exponentially for us”
“we have become good at not just doing a great deal at the deal level but delivering great fund products to the LPS”
How the episode opens
You've raised $875 million in one of the most difficult fundraising markets in decades. How are you able to accomplish this?
For us, it was a function of having the right time, the right strategy, and the right team. Our track record's been good. Um, leading up to the fund raise, we have been posting a lot of exits, a lot of very successful exits, and our DPI numbers have been great at a time when there's isn't a lot of DPI.
So, the timing was really good. Our strategy resonated with investors as well. We focus on the lower middle market.
We buy founder own businesses. We buy sub10 million dollar EBID dot businesses and we are a purchase price matters firm and I think all of that story is is resonating right now with LPS. We have a 45 person team which is quite a large team relative to our fund size and I think people love our team today.
Every on-site diligence session that people do people we get complimented on the quality of our team and uh I think it's a combination of those things the time the strategy and the team that that led to a great outcome. Renovas alongside being overs subscribed on 875 million, you're also ranked number one in terms of quantitative metrics like IR, DPI, TBPI. What allows you to capture alpha in your fund?
What's the secret sauce? It's a great question. Just a quick story.
There was a morning in 2022 when we both woke up to having all these inbound emails from uh institutional investors, highly respected names from around the world who wanted to set up meetings with us. That's not what we normally wake up to. uh and we were wondering what was going on and it turns out we had been named in in one of these studies.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- private equity fundraising
- dpi irr tvpi performance
- lower middle market
- portfolio construction
- lp alignment
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Renovus Capital Partners
Watch the episode
Watch “Inside a PE Fund Ranked #1 in IRR, DPI, and TVPI” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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How I Invest With David Weisburd, this episode and its artwork belong to David Weisburd. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
