Strong together in private markets

August 27, 2025

^{This article was originally written in Dutch. This is an English translation.}

Access to the best funds is widely regarded as the key to achieving attractive returns in private markets. Auréus is therefore joining forces with Mercer to offer both existing and new Auréus clients access to Mercer's highly regarded fund managers.

By Michiel Pekelharing

Han Dieperink, CIO at Auréus, and Huub Ten Holter, Investment Leader at Mercer, explain how this collaboration helps clients access the best investment opportunities within private markets.

Why are private assets such a popular investment category at the moment?

Han Dieperink: 'There are various reasons why private markets are attracting increasing attention.

In the case of private equity, many companies have disappeared from the stock market in recent years, while at the same time private companies have become reluctant to apply for a stock market listing due to factors such as stricter regulations. As a result of the exodus from the stock market, there are now only 3,403 shares in the Wilshire 5000 Index. In March 1998, there were more than 7,378. This means that investors in stock markets have less and less to choose from, but outside the stock markets they have more and more. When it comes to private debt, it is important to note that new regulations, such as the Basel III capital requirements, are making banks less inclined to grant flexible credit. In addition, infrastructure and real estate are also becoming more common in portfolios. However, within private markets, it is very important to separate the wheat from the chaff. The difference between the best and worst funds is much greater than in public markets. For example, a large proportion of private equity funds add little or no value. It is therefore very important to be highly selective in choosing funds that structurally outperform the market average.'

How do you separate the wheat from the chaff and find the best-performing private market funds? Is that process similar to selecting equity and bond funds?

Dieperink: 'An important difference is the degree of transparency and accessibility. While you can buy an ETF or a bond relatively easily and cheaply, private markets require in-depth due diligence, careful selection processes and intensive management. You need to know where you are investing, how the fund is structured, what the terms and conditions are, whether there is sufficient diversification across vintages, regions and sectors, and – crucially – whether you have access to the right funds. It takes a lot of manpower and expertise to map this out properly. Only with a very large private market portfolio of several billion euros does it pay off to invest in this yourself. We have therefore chosen to work with Mercer.'

In private markets, it is very important to separate the wheat from the chaff.

  
Huub Ten Holter: 'At Mercer, the core of every collaboration lies in the way we form partnerships with clients – in this case Auréus – and support them in building agile, resilient and innovative investment portfolios that align with their specific investment objectives and governance needs. Once these goals are clear, we explore the full spectrum of private markets – an area in which we have been active for more than 30 years – to identify suitable investment opportunities. We then leverage our relationships with highly regarded general partners (GPs) in each alternative investment category to achieve allocations that align with each client's objectives. Mercer Sentinel, our due diligence division, analyses a fund in advance and periodically monitors operational and investment risks throughout its lifetime. This assessment and risk analysis is something that many smaller players are unable to organise independently.'

Dieperink: 'In addition to expertise, the network is also very valuable to us. Mercer gives us access to the top segment of GPs. These are the managers who make the investment decisions and are responsible for the day-to-day activities within a fund. For smaller parties and individual wealth managers, it is very difficult or even impossible to get a foot in the door.'

What does the collaboration between Auréus and Mercer look like in practice?

Dieperink: 'Mercer supports Auréus with the structure and content of so-called ‘feeder funds’, which are collective structures in which clients can participate. Each feeder fund is thematically structured around, for example, private equity, private debt or infrastructure and contains several underlying funds that are managed by selected and top-rated GPs. This provides direct access to a broad spread across sectors, regions and strategies.'

Ten Holter: 'During the roadshows organised by Auréus, we work closely together to provide investors with valuable insights into private markets. We bring in various specialists, including myself, to share our knowledge. The aim is to better inform investors and contribute to improving private markets – something that starts with education. We do this using concrete examples, such as investments in data centres or well-known names, because we understand that the level of knowledge of clients and prospects varies greatly: some are very experienced, while others are just starting out. Education is therefore essential. Mercer plays a supporting role in this by making complex topics – such as direct lending and portfolio structure – accessible to a wide audience.'

Dieperink: 'Education is indeed very important, because there are major differences with public markets. In private markets, it is common to commit to a fund for a period of ten years, with a possible extension of one or two years. This does not mean that your money is put to work immediately, as investors are used to in equity and bond markets. Instead, during the investment phase of the fund, capital calls are made at times when costs are incurred or new investment opportunities are found. The internal rate of return, or IRR, is calculated over the period during which the capital is actually invested. Some funds boast an IRR of 20% or even much more. As an investor, you should not focus on this, because the average return over the entire term of the fund is often significantly lower.'

Each time, we specifically look for the best general partners and see if we can respond to new trends. This means that a fund is not a copy of a previous edition.

 
Ten Holter: 'That is another reason why it is important to map out exactly what a party does, so that you can separate the wheat from the chaff. We also help Auréus create a suitable structure to give their clients access to private markets. Through fund of funds and co-investing, where you invest in certain deals as a minority shareholder alongside the GP, it is possible to put capital to work relatively quickly, for example.'

Can you give an example of a successful fund that your collaboration has resulted in?

Dieperink: 'Two years ago, we jointly launched a private equity fund, followed by a private debt fund. The third segment we focus on is real assets, such as real estate and infrastructure. We try to come up with a new solution in each segment every year. This also gives clients the opportunity to spread the risk over different vintages.'

Ten Holter: 'We are now on our fifth fund. Each time, we specifically look for the best GPs in our opinion and see if we can respond to new trends. This means that a fund is not a copy of a previous edition, but that Auréus clients have access to private market solutions of a quality that you normally only see in the institutional world.'
 

^{1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilshire_5000"https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Wilshire_5000
2 https://ww1.wilshireindexes.com/ftwilshire5000"https://ww1. wilshireindexes.com/ftwilshire5000}