This week on Swimming with Allocators, Kate Simpson joins Earnest and Alexa to share her journey from starting as a history major at the UNC endowment to leading the venture strategy at multi-asset OCIO firm GEM. She explains how she learned institutional investing, specialized in private markets, and refined her craft at Parish Capital and Truebridge, including fund-of-funds due diligence, reference work, and the power of platforms and networks. The conversation dives into how to build a venture program from scratch, why alignment, patience, and resource intensity matter, and how GEM uses a barbell approach across top-tier scaled platforms and emerging managers while avoiding the “crowded middle.” Kate breaks down how LPs evaluate managers (source, pick, win), why fund math and ownership are critical, and how today’s AI-driven cycle, secondary markets, and companies staying private longer are reshaping ventures. Also, don’t miss Nick Cassin from Sidley as he explains the rapid growth of the private-fund secondary market, what’s driving the surge in secondary and continuation vehicle (CV) transactions, and how new types of capital providers are stepping in as lead investors to provide liquidity to private-market participants.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

Starting at UNC Endowment With No Finance Background (0:31)  

Transitioning from TrueBridge to Gem and Taking on a Leadership Role (6:10)

Advice for Building a New Venture Program and Aligning Stakeholders (10:12)

Democratization of Venture Access and Barbell Strategy for Manager Selection (12:38)

Sourcing and Evaluating New Venture Managers with a High-Volume Funnel (16:26)

Secondaries Market Boom and Macro Dynamics Driving Liquidity Needs (21:00)

Rise of Continuation Vehicles and Structural Evolution of Secondaries (23:36)

How to Approach a First LP Meeting and Importance of Fund Math (26:03)

Defining Early Versus Later Stages and Gem's Seed and Micro Fund Threshold (28:13)

Normalization of Secondary Liquidity for Founders and Early Investors (35:24)

Future Opportunities in Smaller Funds and the Dynamic Early Ecosystem (36:12)

Final Thoughts and Takeaways (40:12)

GEM is an independent investment management firm that provides customized solutions for long-term investors worldwide. Since 2007, we have sought to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns to our clients by combining disciplined investment research and active portfolio management with exceptional service and enduring partnership. With a global platform, broad institutional investment capabilities, and an experienced team, we design portfolios to meet the unique needs of each investor we serve. For more information, visit www.geminvestments.com.

Sidley Austin LLP is a premier global law firm with a dedicated Venture Funds practice, advising top venture capital firms, institutional investors, and private equity sponsors on fund formation, investment structuring, and regulatory compliance. With deep expertise across private markets, Sidley provides strategic legal counsel to help funds scale effectively. Learn more at sidley.com.

Swimming with Allocators is a podcast that dives into the intriguing world of Venture Capital from an LP (Limited Partner) perspective. Hosts Alexa Binns and Earnest Sweat are seasoned professionals who have donned various hats in the VC ecosystem. Each episode, we explore where the future opportunities lie in the VC landscape with insights from top LPs on their investment strategies and industry experts shedding light on emerging trends and technologies. 

The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this podcast are for general informational purposes only.

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