Private Equity Professionals

Private Advisors expands UK management team

The investment firm has recruited senior hires for its London office as it looks to launch a fundraising push.

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Matthew Baker, Jennifer Buckley and Rickard Fischerstrom have joined the UK team of Private Advisors, a global alternative assets investment firm, as managing directors. Private Advisors laid the foundations for a European push by recruiting Jens Bisgaard-Frantzen to head up its London office last year. He was the former chief executive and managing partner of ATP Private Equity Partners, the private equity investment arm of ATP, Denmark’s largest institutional investor.

Private Advisors is looking to launch a global private equity fund as well as a European small mid-cap fund, according to a market source. Private Advisors managed $3.8 billion (€2.4 billion) in hedge fund and private equity assets as of 1 January 2008.

Buckley worked at GE Equity, the private equity team of General Electric, where she was head of the Europe, Middle East and Africa private equity group and oversaw commitments to private equity funds and co-investments. Before joining GE Equity, Buckley worked for two years at Goldman Sachs’ fixed income team. At Private Advisors she will be responsible for private equity manager sourcing, due diligence and monitoring, as well as portfolio construction.

Baker joins from ATP Private Equity Partners, where he was responsible for all legal and tax affairs. He will organise private equity manager selection and monitoring, due diligence, and legal and tax affairs.

Fischerstrom was in charge of investor relations and business development at Lazard Asset Management, the asset management arm of the investment bank. He also previously headed European institutional business development and client service at UBS’ alternative and quantitative investment division. At Private Advisors he will be in charge of European business development and investor relations.

Bisgaard-Frantzen said: “We believe the long-term opportunities lie with managers with a demonstrated ability to grow EBITDA over the long term.” He said it is harder to find managers in Europe than it is the US with a sector-specific focus, which is the strategy Private Advisors typically favours. But he said more sector specialist firms would develop in Europe as the market matures.