How LPs Evaluate Lower Middle Market Private Equity Managers - Lara Banks - Managing Director & Head of Private Equity - Makena Capital

Feb 3, 2026

Lara Banks, Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at Makena Capital, brings energy, quant trading, and project finance experience to institutional investing. She discusses Makena’s evolution from an endowment model, focus on emerging managers and independent sponsors, managing liquidity in evergreen portfolios, and hot themes like AI, energy infrastructure, and biotech.

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ANECDOTE

Career Path From Trading To Allocator

Lara Banks described her career path from quant trading to GE Capital to joining Makena in 2012.
She emphasized the pull from energy and the move from direct investing to an allocator role at Makena.

INSIGHT

People Drive Allocator Outcomes

Lara says the shift from asset- and data-focus to people-focus was pivotal for her investing success.
As an allocator she now prioritizes understanding managers' motivations, networks, and leadership.

ANECDOTE

Stanford Roots And Evergreen Evolution

Makena originated from Stanford and built an endowment-style mutual fund for smaller institutions.
In 2017 Makena created evergreen private equity and venture vehicles to make endowment building blocks investable.

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In this episode of The Distribution, Brandon Sedloff sits down with Lara Banks to explore her investing career and her long tenure at Makena Capital. Lara shares how her early background in energy, quantitative trading, and project finance shaped her perspective as an allocator, and how her role evolved as Makena expanded its private equity and venture platform. The conversation dives into Makena’s origins, its approach to serving endowments, foundations, and families, and how the firm balances innovation, customization, and disciplined portfolio construction in private markets. Together, they also discuss how talent, alignment, and long-term thinking drive Makena’s approach to manager selection and capital deployment across cycles.

They discuss:

Lara’s career path from energy and quantitative trading to leading private equity and venture investing at Makena
Makena Capital’s evolution from a Stanford endowment model to evergreen private equity and venture vehicles
The firm’s focus on emerging managers, independent sponsors, and people-driven investing
How Makena manages liquidity, pacing, and secondaries within evergreen private market portfolios
Current themes in private equity and venture, including AI, energy infrastructure, and biotech inflection points

Links:

Lara on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lara-banks-4216a69/

Makena Capital - https://www.makenacap.com/

Brandon on LinkedIn - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/⁠

Juniper Square - ⁠https://www.junipersquare.com/⁠

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro (00:02:21) - Lara’s career journey (00:08:06) - Leadership evolution at Makena Capital (00:12:34) - Makena Capital's structure and customization (00:17:48) - Role of an OCIO and client interaction (00:20:39) - Focus on emerging managers and investment strategies (00:27:49) - Private equity and venture capital insights (00:34:51) - Managing liquidity in private markets (00:40:37) - Trends and opportunities in venture capital (00:47:06) - Conclusion and final thoughts