Griff Norville, Managing Director at Hamilton Lane, discusses the shift from Stone Age to digital age in private markets. Topics include underinvestment in technology by GPs, the importance of technology in portfolio management, and the challenges and opportunities in private market investments.
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insights INSIGHT
Data Is The Next Frontier In Private Markets
Private markets still have large upside from data and tech compared with public markets where alpha is tighter.
Hamilton Lane uses data to gain edge especially in portfolio construction, not just selection.
question_answer ANECDOTE
From Fishbowl Win To Building Cobalt
Griff won a free trial at a conference and discovered a startup with a consumer-grade private markets interface.
Hamilton Lane formed a strategic partnership then acquired the firm and built Cobalt LP in-house.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Build What’s Core, Buy The Rest
Build proprietary tools for your core differentiated capabilities and buy or partner for non-core needs.
Digitize bespoke services to scale them across more clients efficiently.
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Today’s episode takes us into the world of technology with an expert in private markets tech.
Griff Norville is a Managing Director and Head of Technology Solutions at Hamilton Lane, the $903B AUM (*Inclusive of $120.2B in discretionary assets under management and $782.9B in non-discretionary assets under management, as of December 31, 2023) global alternative asset manager. Griff leads the firm’s tech-enabled analytics, forecasting, and investment diligence platform, Cobalt LPTM and related portfolio reporting services, and co-heads the firm’s Technology Committee.
Griff focuses on building proprietary tools and strategically partnering or investing into private markets fintech companies as part of the firm’s efforts to drive digital transformation within the industry. Griff also leverages his background on the investment side to help inform how he thinks about technology transformation within private markets. He previously co-led Hamilton Lane’s research team, where he was responsible for leveraging data to assess market trends and advice clients on investment and portfolio construction strategy.
Griff and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of private markets technology and why it’s an exciting time for innovation in the space. We discussed:
How private markets are moving from the Stone Age and Excel age to the digital age.
Why most GPs are still underinvested in technology.
How Griff approaches the build, buy, invest question.
Why Cobalt was so foundational to Hamilton Lane’s work in private markets.
How technology innovation has driven product innovation when working with the wealth channel.
What comes next for technology in private markets.
Thanks Griff for coming on the show to share your thoughts and wisdom on how technology is impacting private markets and for the work you’re doing to invest in technology that’s transforming the space.
Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets