Key Takeaways
- • Titanbay, a London-based online platform, launched on July 16, 2020 to give smaller institutional and professional investors access to curated top-tier private equity funds, with low minimums and low fees.
- • The company is led by CEO and serial entrepreneur Thomas Eskebaek, and is backed by more than 30 investors and advisors with over 100 years of combined experience from CVC, EQT, Hg Capital, Morgan Stanley and Bain & Company.
- • Fund selection is overseen by an Investment Advisory Board that includes Thomas Schleicher, CIO of KIRKBI, and Oliver Burgel, former Chief Executive of Barings Europe.
- • Titanbay targets a reported $50tn underserved pool of capital from smaller institutions, family offices and private investors, and plans to add eight to 12 new funds per year.
- • The platform launched to a closed network in spring 2020 and has already completed its first investments.
Summary
Titanbay, a next-generation online investing platform based in London, has launched to enable small and medium-sized institutional and professional private investors to access private equity funds, according to a company announcement distributed by Business Wire. The platform is designed to remove barriers that typically exclude smaller investors, including high minimum commitments and onerous investment processes. Titanbay states that qualified investors can access the same top-tier funds used by the largest institutional investors, with low investment minimums and low fees, while retaining control over where and how much they invest.
The company was founded by a team of industry professionals led by CEO Thomas Eskebaek, a serial entrepreneur who previously worked at Bain & Company and Eight Roads. The team includes COO Laura Heely, who began her career in investment advisory at J.P. Morgan, and Head of Investor Relations Adam Harrison, formerly Managing Director at Capital Group and previously at Standard Life. Titanbay is backed by more than 30 investors and advisors who have worked at CVC, EQT, Hg Capital, Morgan Stanley and Bain & Company. Its advisory board includes Thomas Schleicher, CIO of KIRKBI, the Kirk Kristiansen family's private holding and investment company; Marcello Bottoli, former CEO of Samsonite and an Operating Partner at Advent International; and Jussi Nyrölä, a former Senior Director at EQT.
Fund selection is led by the Investment Advisory Board, which the company says includes CIOs of leading family offices and funds with roughly $10 billion in assets. Titanbay also offers a proprietary portfolio analysis tool that lets investors view holdings by strategy, sector and geography, forecast NAV and cash flows, and simulate how new investments would affect their portfolios.
On the GP side, Titanbay says it opens access to an underserved pool of roughly $50 trillion of capital from smaller institutions, family offices and private investors, while handling the operational complexity of smaller tickets. The firm acts as a first-close limited partner with fast investment decision-making. Titanbay launched to a closed network in spring 2020, has completed its first investments, and aims to curate eight to 12 new funds annually.
CEO Thomas Eskebaek said the platform opens private equity to a new class of investors and estimated that exclusion of smaller institutions such as pension funds, trusts, charities and family offices costs them hundreds of billions of dollars per year. The company's claims about returns and the value of illiquid assets are its own assertions and have not been independently verified.
The company was founded by a team of industry professionals led by CEO Thomas Eskebaek, a serial entrepreneur who previously worked at Bain & Company and Eight Roads. The team includes COO Laura Heely, who began her career in investment advisory at J.P. Morgan, and Head of Investor Relations Adam Harrison, formerly Managing Director at Capital Group and previously at Standard Life. Titanbay is backed by more than 30 investors and advisors who have worked at CVC, EQT, Hg Capital, Morgan Stanley and Bain & Company. Its advisory board includes Thomas Schleicher, CIO of KIRKBI, the Kirk Kristiansen family's private holding and investment company; Marcello Bottoli, former CEO of Samsonite and an Operating Partner at Advent International; and Jussi Nyrölä, a former Senior Director at EQT.
Fund selection is led by the Investment Advisory Board, which the company says includes CIOs of leading family offices and funds with roughly $10 billion in assets. Titanbay also offers a proprietary portfolio analysis tool that lets investors view holdings by strategy, sector and geography, forecast NAV and cash flows, and simulate how new investments would affect their portfolios.
On the GP side, Titanbay says it opens access to an underserved pool of roughly $50 trillion of capital from smaller institutions, family offices and private investors, while handling the operational complexity of smaller tickets. The firm acts as a first-close limited partner with fast investment decision-making. Titanbay launched to a closed network in spring 2020, has completed its first investments, and aims to curate eight to 12 new funds annually.
CEO Thomas Eskebaek said the platform opens private equity to a new class of investors and estimated that exclusion of smaller institutions such as pension funds, trusts, charities and family offices costs them hundreds of billions of dollars per year. The company's claims about returns and the value of illiquid assets are its own assertions and have not been independently verified.
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