Elizabeth Egan, Executive Director, Private Markets at TIFF Investment Management, joined The Asante Edge Podcast with Asante Partner Kelly Phelan to discuss how TIFF has built a long-term program backing independent sponsors, focusing on areas of the market “where scale can’t go,” and to share advice for GPs navigating the move from independent sponsor to funded model.
Key takeaways from the conversation:
- Inefficiency persists in the lower middle market, and that’s precisely where independent sponsors are finding opportunity. By focusing on segments where larger capital cannot operate effectively, investors can access deals that remain underserved and attractively priced.
- Deal-by-deal investing, when done well, creates meaningful alignment between sponsors and capital partners. These early partnerships often form the foundation for durable, long-term relationships as sponsors mature.
- What separates managers who can build a platform from those who cannot comes down to mindset and intentionality. As Elizabeth puts it: “Think of yourself as a business builder. You are an entrepreneur, you’re not just doing deals. You are building a business.”
Listen to the full conversation on Spotify
Disclaimer: Elizabeth Egan is an Executive Director, Private Markets at TIFF Investment Management. All views expressed by her on this podcast are solely her opinions and do not reflect the opinions of TIFF. You should not treat any opinions expressed by Elizabeth as a specific endorsement to make a particular investment. References to any securities are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Any past performance discussed is not indicative of future results. Please keep in mind that investment in a fund entails a high degree of risk, including the risk of loss. Please note that the ads featured in this podcast are not endorsed by TIFF, and TIFF is not a sponsor of these ads.
The Asante Edge is hosted by Kelly Phelan, a Partner at Asante Capital Group, a placement agent focused on connecting private equity managers with institutional investors globally.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results and the opinions presented cannot be viewed as an indicator of future performance. There is no guarantee that any particular asset allocation or mix of strategies will meet your investment objectives.
The materials are being provided for informational purposes only and constitute neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. These materials also do not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. Opinions expressed herein are those of TIFF and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities.
These materials may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Although TIFF believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, future results cannot be guaranteed.
TIFF assets under management (AUM) is as of 9/30/25 and includes discretionary and non-discretionary client assets for which TIFF affiliates provide investment management or advisory services. The private markets portion of TIFF AUM is calculated based upon fund net asset value plus unfunded commitments. Calculation of TIFF AUM differs from the calculation of regulatory assets under management in TIFF’s Form ADV filings with the SEC and may differ from the AUM calculation methodologies used by other investment managers.
