Investments

Private investors remain bullish on private equity as recessionary forces loom, finds Moonfare investor survey

A survey by Moonfare shows investors are doubling down on private equity despite global macroeconomic headwinds.

In September 2022, Moonfare conducted an online survey to better understand the sentiment of the company's investor community. The survey found that the 244 Moonfare individual investors who shared their observations are as concerned as other investors about the immediate macroeconomic outlook: they expect a prolonged slowdown that could extend into 2023 and beyond. However, these economic concerns have not significantly dented investors' faith in private equity as an investment class. A full 83 percent of respondents said they are considering making new allocations to private equity in the next 12 months. An overwhelming majority (77 percent) expect their private equity investments will meet expectations, and 8 percent expect their investments to exceed them.

Traditional buyout funds are seen as the best fit for current economic circumstances. Infrastructure, secondaries and private credit have also come into focus for their traditional resilience to recession. Conversely, investors are less confident in tech-heavy venture capital and growth strategies. However, while survey respondents are sceptical about the short term performance of tech-heavy strategies, in the long term 77 percent consider tech to be one of the most promising industries to invest in.

 

Commenting on the survey results, Moonfare Founder and CEO, Steffen Pauls, said: “Our survey demonstrates that in times of great economic uncertainty investors recognise the benefits of private equity, with many even looking to extend their private markets exposure while seeking to build resilience into their portfolios. Moonfare’s due diligence processes ensure that only the most compelling funds from general partners such as KKR, Carlyle, EQT or Silverlake reach our platform members. Fewer than 5% of funds under consideration make it through our robust process."

 

The Moonfare survey found that when making an investment decision, private investors will first consider the track record of the fund manager and then the fund's leadership team. Amongst other criteria, Moonfare’s due diligence process assesses fund performance on both an absolute and risk-adjusted basis, while scrutinising the attribution of returns and fund performance through multiple cycles.

The survey found that illiquidity, fees and the long-term investment horizon of private equity are the biggest hurdles to new allocations, although these can be mitigated. For example, Moonfare offers a unique path to early liquidity through its digital secondary market. An exclusive partnership with Lexington Partners, the world's largest and longest-running operator of private equity secondary investments, brings a path to liquidity to the Moonfare platform in twice-yearly auctions.

The full report can be accessed here: Moonfare Investor Survey 2022