Golding Capital Partners increased its institutional assets under management to a record €12 billion in 2021. Golding received capital commitments of some €2 billion over the course of the year, at the same time as making investments of €1.5 billion – both figures being also new records in its more than 20-year company history. In 2022 Golding is planning to increase its assets under management by at least a similar volume, despite the challenging market environment and higher geopolitical risks. Growth is being driven by further internationalisation and a broad range of alternative investment solutions, which comprise specialised co-investment solutions and managed accounts as well as classic funds of funds. Golding also intends to keep expand further its range of sustainable products beyond its first dedicated impact fund.
“Our growth strategy is really paying off. Our institutional investors appreciate the extension of our product line to specialist solutions for co-investments, secondaries and impact investments. Investor feedback confirms that the continuous expansion of our institutional client team is the right way to go, most recently with our new office in Switzerland. Close personal relationships with our investors and further growth in assets under management will continue to go hand in hand in future”, says Hubertus Theile-Ochel, Managing Partner of Golding Capital Partners.
28 new investors acquired – international expansion continues
Golding gained 28 new investors last year, in addition to expanding existing mandates. The biggest individual commitment was from the German TK Pensionsfonds AG, which awarded Golding a multi-asset mandate. In addition to its growing German institutional business, Golding’s international expansion in Europe and beyond is continuing apace. Institutional investors from Southern Europe, East Asia and South America are among its new clients. In the current year Golding particularly intends to build on its relationships in Switzerland, Italy and the Nordic countries.
Investors increasingly focused on sustainable alternatives
“We are seeing significantly higher demand for ESG products and impact solutions. We have specifically strengthened our team with experts in this field, such as Dr Andreas Nilsson as Head of Impact Investing and Christian Schütz as ESG Officer. All our initiatives in this area, along with our new Impact Task Force, now enable us to provide our investors with comprehensive advice and support. We believe we are well positioned to concentrate on the many challenges that the subject of sustainability still involves, from reporting issues to due diligence and product structuring”, explains Jeremy Golding, founder and Managing Partner of Golding Capital Partners. In addition to the dedicated impact fund that is expected to hold a first closing mid-year, an energy transition fund is planned to launch in the third quarter.
Although the market environment is challenging, Golding has set ambitious growth targets for the current year that are yet another step up from the excellent result in 2021. Golding is anticipating that its growth across the asset classes infrastructure, private credit and private equity will come not only from the classic fund of funds business, but above all from its co-investment solutions and individual managed accounts.
“After years of low interest rates many investors have gained experience of alternative investments in private markets – often with us – and steadily increased their allocations as a result of their positive experiences. And for many of them, sooner or later, the next logical step in their portfolio construction is a co-investment fund, or an individual managed account. We see a strong rise in demand for these products, which we are well positioned to meet. Our philosophy is to truly understand investors needs and work with them to find a customised solution”, explains Hubertus Theile-Ochel.
To support the growth strategy Golding will aggressively expand its team this year, after growing by 25 per cent to 140 employees in 2021. Jakob Schramm was promoted to Partner as of 1 March 2022, taking over leadership of the Private Credit group from Abhik Das, who will be moving back to the direct investment business from the mid-year onwards.
