The latest offerings in public and private market investments, such as funds and structured products, and other notable developments.

Stanhope Capital
Stanhope Capital has launched a new vehicle that concentrates on investing with major venture capital firms. 

Stanhope FFT Global Ventures will be managed by Stanhope Capital. A report on Bloomberg said that underlying VC funds within the new Stanhope umbrella include Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst Partners. Stanhope told WealthBriefing that it is not disclosing the funds it will invest with.

“Public markets have witnessed a level of correction in tech valuations, but this correction has not yet filtered into private markets. When it eventually does, the most capable venture capital funds will outperform, due to their long experience, the underlying quality of their existing portfolios and their ability to continue to deploy into the most exciting next generation companies,” Daniel Pinto, chief executive of Stanhope Capital, said.

Agreed last November, the merger of Stanhope Capital and FWM Holdings - owner of Forbes Family Trust, LGL Partners and Optima Fund Management – was in part designed to capture more private market expertise that the new vehicle could tap into, he said. “Part of the rationale behind the merger of Stanhope Capital and Forbes Family Trust earlier this year was bringing together the private markets expertise of both companies and using our combined geographic reach, scale and connectivity to offer clients access to genuinely unique investment opportunities,” he said. 

Venture capital has historically offered superior returns than investing in public equity markets. However, the spread in performance results within venture capital is far greater than in other private markets strategies. The best performing venture funds also tend to cap their size and are typically over-subscribed through existing relationships. 

“The strength of the combined Stanhope Capital and Forbes Family Trust networks makes it possible for the clients of both firms to have access to this exclusive group of managers,” Stanhope said. 

Stanhope is no stranger to private markets investing. It was an early backer of S4 Capital, the multi-billion dollar digital advertising group founded by advertising tycoon Sir Martin Sorrell. 

Stanhope Capital oversees more than $26 billion in client assets and employs 140 people from six offices (London, Geneva, Paris, New York, Philadelphia and Palm Beach). It was founded in 2004.