Episode 386: Growth Equity in Insurance Portfolios

Suzanne Gauron, Managing Director and Head of Capital Solutions for Growth Equity at General Atlantic, joins the InsuranceAUM Podcast to explore the role growth equity can play in institutional and insurance portfolios. She explains how growth equity differs from venture capital and traditional buyouts, focusing on profitable, rapidly growing companies with little or no leverage and returns driven primarily by business performance.   The conversation examines how growth equity may provide insurers with exposure to return drivers that differ from the interest rate, credit spread, and leveraged equity risks already common across general accounts. Gauron also discusses where institutions are funding growth equity allocations, including buyout, venture capital, and public equity portfolios, as well as the growing range of investment structures available through commingled funds, funds of one, secondaries, and co-investments.   Gauron also shares her perspective on the current private market environment, including prolonged illiquidity, pressure to generate distributions, valuation discounts, and how limited exit activity is creating new opportunities for growth equity investors. She closes the conversation with insights from her career, including the qualities she values in strong teammates and the importance of intellectual curiosity and an ownership mindset.