Hugh MacArthur, Chairman at Bain & Company: It’s a fantastic time to invest in secondaries

Hugh MacArthur is the Chairman of Bain & Company’s Global Private Equity Practice, which he helped establish over 25 years ago. 

With a wealth of experience advising private equity funds worldwide, he has been involved in hundreds of projects focusing on deals, strategy and operations. 

A recognised thought leader, Hugh is also the host of “Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast”, dedicated to discussing key industry trends with leading experts.

In a conversation with Steffen Pauls, CEO and Founder of Moonfare, Hugh shared his thoughts on how the private equity world has changed and what’s coming next. They covered everything from current market conditions and secondaries to fundraising trends and emerging managers.

Here are a couple of highlights from the interview:

Public vs. private markets

“In the public markets, you get 90% of the money but only 10% of the global investment opportunities. In the private markets, it’s the opposite. The room for growth in private markets is absolutely massive. The question is, what education is required to give people the confidence to invest in these markets with names they don’t necessarily know or understand?”

The liquidity question

“Markets need to recover. There needs to be an acceleration in exits, which would put money back in LPs' pockets. It’s a multiyear issue, and it’s not going to get better in three or four months. There are too many companies, and too much value needs to come back. It doesn’t have to be fully solved though, but we need to be on the path of solving it.”

On investing in secondaries

“It’s a fantastic time to invest in secondaries. It is absolutely a growth market with an asset class where even the entire fourth quartile generates positive returns. When we do surveys with institutional investors, they all tell us they’re planning to increase allocation to secondaries.”

The power of AI

“I have no doubt that in a few years, some industries will be fundamentally reshaped by the ways AI is being deployed. But for now, it’s important to understand what technology can and still can’t do for businesses. This is what many GPs are exploring in partnership with management teams.”

Capital at risk. Moonfare does not provide investment advice. All views expressed by the interviewees remain their own.

Important notice: This content is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed by the interviewee are their own. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Moonfare. Moonfare does not provide investment advice. You should not construe any information or other material provided as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. If you are unsure about anything, you should seek financial advice from an authorised advisor. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. Private equity is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Subject to eligibility. Please see https://www.moonfare.com/disclaimers.