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While there’s widespread suspicion that “financial skullduggery” is afoot in private market valuations, the tricky part is the lack of comparisons in their fastest growing segment.

“Most of the new capital that’s come into the markets… has been chasing fads,” says David Chan, portfolio manager at MLC Private Equity. “The latest hot opportunity, whether it be an unprofitable tech company that’s growing very rapidly, or a very large scale buyout that’s the headline of tomorrow’s AFR.”

“If you have style drift and you move into the latest hot thing, you’re gonna get whipsawed… That’s usually the death knell of a fund manager, that style drift.”

Australia’s super funds have been leaders in adopting private markets investing, but they’ve still got a long way to go. Overcoming the obsession with liquidity will be one hurdle, says the boss of $900 billion private markets manager Hamilton Lane.

Venture capital and private equity have produced the most popular source of new IPOs in recent years, but public market investors are rejecting the valuations they’ve set. Venture capital has been one of the most popular and profitable sectors in which to operate and invest in the last few years. Traditionally the domain of the…

With markets as frothy as they are, you need to find the misfits – and play your cards close to the chest. It helps to be away from the pack. It often takes an outsider to reveal the idiosyncrasies of Australian society. The same can be true of its financial services. Adam Leitzes, founder and…