Flexstone Diversified Private Equity | Natixis Investment Managers

The philosophy

Flexstone Partners is an expert in selecting leading¹ private equity fund managers to invest in companies through a fund of funds structure.

Focus on small and middle-market

An attractive and replicable source of value creation

Larger universe of investment opportunities
Operational value creation
Lower financial leverage
Stronger alignment of interest between investors and fund managers
Broader exit channels
Less corelation with major public equity markets
Advisory Board seats accesible to active board members

Deep, global network of fund managers partners

Long term relationships drive deal flow access strategies

475 + Funds in Portfolio (across all Flexstone Partners' portfolios)
300 + General Partner Relationships
100 + Advisory Board seats

Access to attractive investment opportunities

Manager selection is critical given dispersion of returns

Seek to select top quartile fund managers
Aim to deliver compelling risk adjusted returns
Diversified across managers and industries

Definition of Small / Middle-Market

Size of the underlying funds - €100m to €2.0bn
Size of the companies in which the underlying funds are invested - €50m to €500m EV
Global coverage - Europe, US, Asia

¹ Flexstone as of 30/06/2024. According to Flexstone's due diligence process and criteria and effective at the time of investment.

Reasons to consider

Flexstone Partners’ diversified private equity strategy designed with an Evergreen structure to allow easier subscriptions and redemptions and no capital calls
Accessible to individual investors under certain conditions

This strategy offers a unique and diversified mix of private equity primaries, secondaries and co-investments

o Primaries: allows long-term value creation through the economic cycles

o Secondaries: J Curve mitigation and shorter duration with targeted higher IRR than a typical primary investment into a fund

o Co-investments: allow cost reduction typically offered with no fee/no-carried basis ; J Curve mitigation and shorter duration with targeted higher multiple than a typical primary investment into a fund

Diversified in terms of geographies (Europe, US, Asia), sectors, strategies (Mid buyout ; Small buyout ; Growth) and GPs

$10bn of capital managed or under advisory focusing only in private equity
Global asset management and advisory across private markets, especially in private equity
Team of 60 professionals and local presence in Europe, North America and Asia with senior members of team with 30+ years of deep experience over several market cycles

Double digit net IRR for Primary programs
62+ transactions completed since 2008 in Secondaries => 20.4% combined gross IRR / 1.6x Multiple on Invested Capital
152+ co-investments completed since 2008 => 30.6% combined gross IRR / 2.7x Multiple on Invested Capital

*Source Flexstone Partners. Performance as of 30/06/2024 for co-investments and as of 31/03/2024 for secondaries. The gross performance indicated here is the combined performance of investments taken individually. It does not reflect performance of a Fund that could contain the same investments. Due to fees and costs supported by a Fund, the performance would be lower.

We specialise in the small and middle market where we believe there are more opportunities to enhance the financial and operational soundness of companies”.

– Benoit de Kerleau, Managing Partner,Global Head of Strategy, Business Development & Special Projects, Flexstone Partners

The analyses and opinions referenced herein represent the subjective views of the author(s) as referenced, are as of the date shown and are subject to change without prior notice.

Risks to consider

All investing involves risk, including the risk of loss. Investment risk exists with equity, fixed income and alternative investments. There is no assurance than any investment will meet its performance objectives of that losses will be avoided. There could be other differences across similar products in the same strategy. Investors should fully understand the risks and other relevant details associated with any investment prior to investing.

The firm

Flexstone Partners is an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers with US$10 bn in assets under management and advisory (“AUMA”)². Flexstone Partners is a global asset management and advisory firm offering bespoke investment solutions across all private markets with a focus on the lower, middle market buyouts in the US, Europe and Asia. The senior team has 30+ years of private market experience, and Flexstone aims to deliver attractive investment returns through risk-adjusted investment portfolios. Clients benefit from Flexstone’s access to of the small- and mid-cap markets and approach to investment selection.