Unlocking Liquidity

The same company. The same headline valuation. Very different investment outcomes. In private markets, the difference can lie in the terms attached to the shares. Liquidation preferences determine how sale proceeds are distributed. Future funding rounds can change ownership percentages. Governance rights influence investor oversight, while transfer restrictions can affect the ability to exit. This...

Clinical innovation creates possibilities. Commercial discipline helps turn them into sustainable businesses. In HealthTech, the investment case extends beyond what a technology can do. Who pays for it? Will clinicians adopt it? Can revenue grow faster than the cost of delivery? Our latest article, explores the relationship between clinical progress, commercial adoption and sustainable earnings. W...

A company’s last capital raising tells you what investors paid then. How much does it tell you about what its shares are worth today? That question sits at the heart of a broader challenge in private markets: transparency. For wholesale and sophisticated investors, assessing an unlisted opportunity requires more than a headline valuation. It requires current financial information, clear shareholde...

A compelling company does not automatically make an investment the right fit for your portfolio. Before committing capital, there is another question worth asking: what role will this investment play alongside everything else you own? Our latest article explores what private-market investors can learn from institutional portfolio construction, including: Why every investment should have a clear pu...

Digital assets are returning to the institutional investment conversation, but this time, the focus is shifting away from speculation. Stablecoins, tokenised securities, digital custody and programmable settlement are being examined as potential components of future financial-market infrastructure. For private markets, these technologies could support more efficient issuance, recordkeeping, asset...

Private-market investors may still have a strong appetite for new opportunities, but many already have more capital tied up in existing investments than expected. Slower exits, reduced distributions and longer holding periods are making investors increasingly selective about where they commit fresh capital. For companies raising funds, this is contributing to longer due diligence, greater valuatio...

When an investor purchases a tokenised share, do they actually own part of the company—or simply a financial product linked to its value? The answer depends on the legal structure beneath the token. A stock token might represent a genuine security, a debt obligation issued by an intermediary, or a derivative providing economic exposure without shareholder ownership. These distinctions affect votin...

ASIC’s attention is increasingly turning towards Australia’s private capital sector. As unlisted companies remain private for longer and more wholesale and sophisticated investors explore private market opportunities, expectations around disclosure, valuation, governance and investor communications are rising. Being restricted to wholesale investors does not remove the need for accurate and balanc...

The private capital environment is changing. For many companies, the priority is no longer raising the largest possible round at the highest possible valuation. Instead, businesses are increasingly turning to bridge rounds: targeted capital raises designed to extend runway, maintain momentum and reach clearly defined operational or commercial milestones. This shift reflects a more disciplined fund...

The pre-IPO market is moving beyond private placements negotiated through closed networks. As companies remain private for longer, demand is growing for more structured ways to connect shareholders seeking liquidity with investors looking for access to established private businesses. Marketplaces, private banks and institutional trading desks are responding, helping turn pre-IPO shares into an inc...

The most visible AI companies may not be the only beneficiaries of artificial intelligence growth. Behind every AI application sits an expanding network of computing capacity, secure data environments, energy infrastructure, connected physical assets, edge technology and advanced visualisation systems. As AI moves from experimentation to commercial deployment, investors are increasingly examining...

Private-market deal access was once largely determined by who you knew. Opportunities moved through advisers, brokers, family offices and tightly held personal networks. While relationships remain central to private investing, digital platforms are making it possible to connect companies and investors through more structured, transparent and scalable processes. In this episode we examine how techn...

Is there really a shortage of capital in private markets, or is something else preventing investment from flowing? Despite record levels of committed capital, many private companies are finding it harder than ever to raise funding. Investors continue to express strong interest, yet deals are taking longer, due diligence is becoming more rigorous, and investment decisions are increasingly cautious....

Private markets are changing. For decades, investors accepted a simple trade-off: private markets offered growth potential, while public markets provided liquidity and transparency. Today, that distinction is becoming increasingly blurred. Companies are staying private longer, secondary trading markets are expanding, institutional capital is driving higher reporting standards, and technology is ma...

For years, the private market playbook was simple: invest, grow, and eventually exit through an IPO or acquisition. Today, that model is changing. As companies stay private longer and investors seek greater liquidity, secondary transactions are becoming an increasingly important part of the private market ecosystem. What was once considered an alternative liquidity solution is rapidly evolving int...

The AI investment story is often told through breakthrough applications such as chatbots, copilots and generative AI platforms. Yet much of the capital flowing into the sector today is being directed towards something less visible but equally important: the infrastructure that makes AI possible. From data centres and advanced semiconductors to cloud computing and specialised enterprise platforms,...

For decades, illiquidity was simply accepted as part of private market investing. Today, that mindset is changing. As companies remain private for longer and sophisticated investors seek greater portfolio flexibility, liquidity is increasingly moving from an optional feature to an expected component of private market investing. We explore the forces driving this shift, including the growth of seco...

Climate tech is entering a new phase. The narrative-driven optimism of the past few years is giving way to something more grounded—business models, revenue visibility and cash flow discipline. For investors, this shift is not a retreat. It’s an evolution toward a more investable, more resilient opportunity set. In Climate Tech 2.0: From Hype to Cash Flow, we explore how the sector is maturing, whe...

The denominator effect was one of the defining forces shaping private markets when public equities fell sharply in 2022. At the time, many investors viewed it as a temporary dislocation, a function of portfolio mathematics that would correct itself as markets stabilised. But several years on, the reality is more complex.

Growth is no longer enough. In today’s private markets, capital efficiency is emerging as a defining measure of company quality—particularly as liquidity timelines extend and investors become more selective. The conversation has shifted from “how fast can you grow?” to “how well can you allocate capital while growing?” For founders, this means demonstrating discipline, clarity and a pathway to sus...

Private markets are entering a new phase of price discovery. The gap between what sellers want and what buyers are prepared to pay is widening across venture capital, private equity and secondary markets. Higher interest rates, reduced liquidity and more disciplined investor behaviour are reshaping valuations and changing how private transactions get done. We explore why bid-ask spreads are growin...

Private markets are expanding — but access isn’t keeping pace. As more companies remain private and institutional capital continues to flow into unlisted assets, investors are facing a growing challenge: navigating an increasingly fragmented deal landscape. Opportunity is abundant, but visibility is uneven, and access often depends on networks rather than structure. This shift is driving a new pha...

The idea that private markets are “lightly regulated” is one of the most persistent misconceptions in investing. In reality, private capital operates within a highly structured regulatory framework, particularly in Australia, where ASIC oversight, fundraising rules, and investor qualification requirements shape every transaction. The difference is not less regulation, but a different form of it, o...

Defence technology is no longer a niche allocation. It’s becoming institutional. What was once dominated by large primes and government procurement cycles is now being reshaped by venture-backed companies, sovereign capital and private investors seeking exposure to long-term structural themes.

Private markets are evolving. As companies stay private longer and valuation gaps persist, structured equity is emerging as a powerful solution to get deals done without forcing compromise on price alone. From preferred equity and convertibles to performance-linked structures and secondary liquidity solutions, investors are increasingly negotiating terms, not just valuations. The result is a more...