🎥 Coller Capital's Jake Elmhirst - secondaries coming in first: AGM Live at SuperReturn

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.We sat down with Jake Elmhirst, Partner, Head of Private Wealth Secondaries Solutions and Head of Capital Formation at Coller Capital.We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as private equity industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry’s leading alternative asset managers.Coller Capital has been a pioneer in the rapidly growing secondaries market. Coller’s tagline? “First in secondaries.”Coller might be “first in secondaries.” The industry they focus on has moved to the forefront of private markets. Secondaries are coming in first for many LPs, in part because secondaries are now an active portfolio management solution for LPs (LP-led secondaries) and a way for LPs and GPs to continue to invest in the growth and value appreciation of some of their funds’ best assets (GP-led secondaries).The firm completed its first secondaries transaction in 1990. Today, Collar has $55B in AUM (as of 3/31/26).Jake joined Coller after a long career at UBS, where he partnered with Coller from a few different vantage points co-founding and co-leading the Private Funds Group within UBS Investment Bank and leading the Private Markets effort within UBS Global Wealth Management. His perspective on Coller was very much a reason why he decided to leave his farm in Yorkshire (as a 23rd generation farmer!) to join Coller as they build out their wealth efforts.Jake and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of secondaries and how they are increasingly “solutions” for LPs and GPs. We covered:Jake’s experience witnessing the rise of the early days of private markets and how that’s shaped how he thinks about secondaries today.Why secondaries are becoming “solutions” for LPs and GPs.Why secondaries can be a core portfolio holding.The features of secondaries.The drivers of the increase in LP-led sales.Why GP-led continuation vechicles have become a popular solution.Why secondaries make sense for private wealth investors.BioJake is a Partner and Head of Private Wealth Secondaries Solutions and Head of Capital Formation. He is based in the firm’s London office.Prior to joining Coller Capital in April 2022, Jake spent 25 years at UBS where he led the Private Markets effort within UBS Global Wealth Management, based in London. Prior to that, Jake co-founded and co-led the Private Funds Group within UBS Investment Bank, based in New York.He previously worked at Freshfields in London, where he qualified as a solicitor working in the Tax Team with a focus on collective investment schemes.Jake has a degree in Law (LLB) from the University of Bristol.Jake Elmhirst is a registered representative of Parallel Distributors LLC.Thanks, Jake, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion in private markets, private wealth, and secondaries.Show Notes00:00 Live from SuperReturn Berlin00:30 Meet Jake Elmhirst05:49 23 Generations on the Farm06:17 Black Death Family History06:40 Farming Meets Secondaries07:19 Spotting the Window07:44 Secondaries as Solutions08:25 LP Liquidity Crunch09:15 GP Exit Alternatives09:49 Continuation Vehicles Explained10:59 Limits of CV Adoption12:01 Buying With the GP12:32 Small Funds and Wealth Channel13:46 Consolidation and Niche Winners14:12 Secondaries in Portfolios14:51 Why Secondaries Work16:46 Core Holding for Wealth18:11 Quality Versus Discount20:24 Underwriting Skills Shift20:51 Coller’s Asset Focus DNA21:42 LP Burden in CV Decisions22:50 Evergreen Portfolio Mix23:49 Beyond Fund of Funds24:24 Scaling Custom Solutions25:12 Expanding the Toolbox27:19 Why Scale Matters28:35 Discount Misconceptions30:05 Active Portfolio ManagementJoin over 16,900 Substack subscribers & followers and 44,000 LinkedIn and podcast followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hamilton Lane, StepStone, Partners Group, General Atlantic, Hightower, Focus Financial, Corient, Cerity Partners, and more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit altgoesmainstream.substack.com