Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
We sat down with Jake Elmhirst, Partner, Head of Private Wealth Secondaries Solutions and Head of Capital Formation at Coller Capital.
We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as private equity industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.
With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry’s leading alternative asset managers.
Coller Capital has been a pioneer in the rapidly growing secondaries market. Coller’s tagline? “First in secondaries.”
Coller might be “first in secondaries.” The industry they focus on has moved to the forefront of private markets. Secondaries are coming in first for many LPs, in part because secondaries are now an active portfolio management solution for LPs (LP-led secondaries) and a way for LPs and GPs to continue to invest in the growth and value appreciation of some of their funds’ best assets (GP-led secondaries).
The firm completed its first secondaries transaction in 1990. Today, Collar has $55B in AUM (as of 3/31/26).
Jake joined Coller after a long career at UBS, where he partnered with Coller from a few different vantage points co-founding and co-leading the Private Funds Group within UBS Investment Bank and leading the Private Markets effort within UBS Global Wealth Management. His perspective on Coller was very much a reason why he decided to leave his farm in Yorkshire (as a 23rd generation farmer!) to join Coller as they build out their wealth efforts.
Jake and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of secondaries and how they are increasingly “solutions” for LPs and GPs. We covered:
Jake’s experience witnessing the rise of the early days of private markets and how that’s shaped how he thinks about secondaries today.
Why secondaries are becoming “solutions” for LPs and GPs.
Why secondaries can be a core portfolio holding.
The features of secondaries.
The drivers of the increase in LP-led sales.
Why GP-led continuation vechicles have become a popular solution.
Why secondaries make sense for private wealth investors.
Bio
Jake is a Partner and Head of Private Wealth Secondaries Solutions and Head of Capital Formation. He is based in the firm’s London office.
Prior to joining Coller Capital in April 2022, Jake spent 25 years at UBS where he led the Private Markets effort within UBS Global Wealth Management, based in London. Prior to that, Jake co-founded and co-led the Private Funds Group within UBS Investment Bank, based in New York.
He previously worked at Freshfields in London, where he qualified as a solicitor working in the Tax Team with a focus on collective investment schemes.
Jake has a degree in Law (LLB) from the University of Bristol.
Jake Elmhirst is a registered representative of Parallel Distributors LLC.
Thanks, Jake, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion in private markets, private wealth, and secondaries.
Show Notes
00:00 Live from SuperReturn Berlin
00:30 Meet Jake Elmhirst
05:49 23 Generations on the Farm
06:17 Black Death Family History
06:40 Farming Meets Secondaries
07:19 Spotting the Window
07:44 Secondaries as Solutions
08:25 LP Liquidity Crunch
09:15 GP Exit Alternatives
09:49 Continuation Vehicles Explained
10:59 Limits of CV Adoption
12:01 Buying With the GP
12:32 Small Funds and Wealth Channel
13:46 Consolidation and Niche Winners
14:12 Secondaries in Portfolios
14:51 Why Secondaries Work
16:46 Core Holding for Wealth
18:11 Quality Versus Discount
20:24 Underwriting Skills Shift
20:51 Coller’s Asset Focus DNA
21:42 LP Burden in CV Decisions
22:50 Evergreen Portfolio Mix
23:49 Beyond Fund of Funds
24:24 Scaling Custom Solutions
25:12 Expanding the Toolbox
27:19 Why Scale Matters
28:35 Discount Misconceptions
30:05 Active Portfolio Management
Join over 16,900 Substack subscribers & followers and 44,000 LinkedIn and podcast followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hamilton Lane, StepStone, Partners Group, General Atlantic, Hightower, Focus Financial, Corient, Cerity Partners, and more.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
altgoesmainstream.substack.com
