Adams Street Partners appointed Jim Walker as partner and global head of Wealth.
And if that was not enough to signal the firm’s increased focus on the wealth management sector, Adams Street also launched a dedicated website geared to financial advisors and wealth platforms with insights, news and resources related to private markets investing.
A key 2024 theme
The growing demand for alternative investments among high-net-worth individuals has been a key driver of acquisitions, partnerships and platform launches this year. Just over the past month or so, we saw Bain Capital enter into a deal to acquire wealth management technology and services provider Envestnet for about $4.5 billion; BlackRock make a bid to expand its presence in the $37 trillion U.S. wealth market through a strategic partnership with GeoWealth; and Advent International joining forces with sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to acquire a minority stake in Ken Fisher’s wealth management firm, Fisher Investments, for about $3 billion.
“There is significant demand from advisors and their clients for quality private markets investments. Adams Street can provide access, institutional quality origination, and portfolio construction in ways that are accessible to private wealth clients,” Walker said.
Walker’s new role
Walker, who has been with Adams Street for nearly seven years as partner and chief operating officer, will now be primarily focused on developing and scaling products and services tailored for financial advisors and their clients. Prior to joining Adams Street, Walker held senior leadership positions at several prominent financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch.
To ensure a smooth transition, Walker’s former COO responsibilities will be divided between his new position and Michael Kurlander, who joined the firm as partner and chief financial officer in January after serving as CFO at fintech Pagaya Technologies, and spending much of his career in several leadership positions in finance and operations at Goldman Sachs.
Adams Street Partners, founded over five decades ago, currently manages $59 billion in assets across various private market strategies, including private equity, venture capital, secondaries, private credit, buyout and venture co-investments. The firm has a global presence with offices in major financial centers worldwide, including New York, London, Tokyo and Singapore.