ACE&Company Corporate Presentation 2023
About ACE & Company
ACE & Company (“ACE”), founded in 2005, is a global private investment platform specialized in direct investments for private investors and supported by a perpetual investment group, ACE Investment Partners.
ACE’s passion is finding investment opportunities where we have an advantage through many years of relationship building, a carefully developed position of knowledge in the sectors in which we are active, and a culture of efficiency to gain a first mover’s advantage.
ACE’s purpose is to offer investors a long-term and collaborative investment approach that values honesty, transparency, and rigorous execution so that our strategies not only provide unique access to value accretive, risk-managed deals but foster what we consider our bedrock—trust.
ACE’s progress has been marked by a globally respected track record since the Company was founded in 2005. In the last four years, we have increased our total assets fivefold and, in 2017, received FINMA authorization. With headquarters in Geneva and offices in London, New York, and Cairo, our global presence brings us in direct contact with investors, corporate partners, and entrepreneurs, offering an exceptional network of opportunities across our diverse investment portfolio.
Vision
A leader in diversified investments for private investors
- Dedicated to sourcing niche opportunities with diversified exposure and accretive differentiators
- Leverage specialized knowledge of our network to create value for investors
- Facilitate the allocation of capital to improve risk-adjusted returns
Structure
A transparent investment platform into the real economy
- Provide investors with direct access to and clear information on opportunities
- Best-in-class management teams addressing defensible market opportunities
- Mitigate risk through robust structures and disciplined processes for sourcing, due diligence, and execution
- Regulated by FINMA, Switzerland’s independent financial institution regulator, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Alignment
An investor-owned company with a principal mindset
- ACE’s majority shareholders and partners are the principal shareholders in ACE Investment Partners (“AIP”)
- Leverage our relationships and proprietary sourcing channels to originate a quality flow of opportunities
- Capitalize on our proven team with global reach, expertise, and execution excellence
- Align the interests of our stakeholders around common objectives and goals through flexible structures
Strategic Positioning
ACE is strategically positioned between private equity and venture capital funds, independent investors, and investment advisors and can understand clients’ needs and provide relevant products and services in response.
Alignment Of Interests
Founded by private investors, a proprietary capital approach to investing is strongly anchored across the firm.
Broad Exposure
ACE’s geographic reach and broad network of investment partners provide access to many opportunities.
Specialization
With over ten years of operating
experience, ACE has gained
substantial experience in
structuring successful direct
investments.
ACE in Numbers
3 Product Strategies
$1.7bn Total Assets*
150+ Portfolio Holdings***
$575mm Total Distribution**
29 Companies over 3x
*Total Assets are assets under management combined with assets under advisory
**As of September 2023
***Includes partially exited companies
International Footprint
North America
Office in New York · 97 Investments · 67% AUM · 39 Exits
Europe
Offices in London & Geneva · 32 Investments · 24% AUM · 6 Exits
Asia
11 Investments · 6% AUM · 4 Exits
Emerging Markets
Office in Cairo · 14 Investments · 3% AUM · 3 Exits
Management Team
Sally Beh
Managing Partner
ExCo Chair & IC Member
Geneva
Mazen Daou
Partner
Head of Investment Solutions
ExCo Vice Chair
Geneva
Adam Said
Founding Partner
IC Chair
Geneva
Charles Lorenceau
Founding Partner
Co-Head of Venture
IC Member
London
Sherif El Halwagy
Founding Partner
Head of Secondaries
ExCo Member & IC Member
Cairo
Rob Callahan
Partner
Head of Buyout
IC Member
New York
Steve Salom
Partner
Co-Head of Venture
IC Member
Geneva
Mouaffac Al Midani
Director
Head of Investor Relations
ExCo Member
Geneva
Audrey Dumas
Director
Head of Investment Execution
ExCo Member
Geneva
John Joseph
Director
Head of Corporate Affairs
ExCo Member
Geneva
Lee Lowicki
Investment Director
ExCo Member
New York
Investing with purpose
Corporate Governance
ACE believes corporate governance is central to creating lasting value and is committed to the highest standards. ACE is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) as an Asset Manager of Collective Investment Schemes and by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a Registered Investment Adviser.
Board Of Directors
David Huyette (Chairman)—Unifund
Omar Romman (Vice-Chairman)—ACE & Company
Adam Said—ACE & Company
Charles Lorenceau—ACE & Company
Dalia Said—Roots Capital
Philippe Jacquemoud—
Abir Oreibi—LIFT
Board Advisor—Fiona Frick
Executive Committee
Manage the day-to-day operations of the Company and execute the strategies adopted. Provide direction on the Company’s strategies, development, performance, and risk management.
Sally Beh (C), Mazen Daou (VC), Sherif El Halwagy, Omar Romman, John Joseph, Audrey Dumas, Mouaffac Al Midani, Lee Lowicki
Investment Committees
Review and approve Initial Assessments and Investment Reports. Approve all investment and exit decisions upon fulfillment of due diligence requirements.
Early: Adam Said (C), Rob Callahan (VC), Charles Lorenceau, Sally Beh, Steve Salom
Mature: Adam Said (C), Rob Callahan (VC), Sherif El Halwagy, Rob Callahan, Sanjiv Garg, Youssef Haidar
ACE Swiss Tech Outliers (ASTO): Adam Said (C), Charles Lorenceau (VC), Mark Kornfilt, Sally Beh, Steve Salom
Risk & Audit Committee
Assess the group’s risk management, compliance, legal and regulatory requirements. Review the adequacy and integrity of the financial reporting process.
Philippe Jacquemoud (C), David Huyette, Dalia Said, Abir Oreibi
Valuation Committee
Review and approve the valuation policy in accordance with International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation (IPEV) Guidelines and industry standards.
Audrey Dumas (C), Sally Beh, Antoine Meunier
Market Trends
ACE approaches investments thematically in order to capture opportunities created by the impact of long-term economic, political, and social trends.
Venture
- Energy Transition: ACE seeks companies that are at the forefront of driving change and reducing the impact of global energy systems, from mobility transitions to climate technologies.
- Deeptech Breakthroughs: ACE aims to identify and support teams driving efficiency changes across traditional industries through blockchain applications, engineering innovations, and artificial intelligence.
- Future of Work: Rapid demographic changes and innovative services are expanding economic possibilities in both professional and personal spheres, as seen in new B2B services and Web3 technologies.
Buyout
- Emerging Sponsors: ACE partners with new managers possessing deep industry expertise to create value through specialized knowledge in niche industries.
- Operator-led Value Creation: Strong teams leverage digitalization, process improvements, and cost containment strategies to create significant value from business operations.
- Continuation Vehicles: ACE utilizes these new investment structures to extend investment horizons and capital structures, unlocking new ways to maximize investor returns.
Secondaries
- Denominator Effect and Compressed Re-Ups Driving Supply: These two market dynamics are increasing Private Equity capital supply and creating new secondary market opportunities.
- Market Normalization: General partners are increasingly accepting secondary market transactions, opening new avenues for liquidity and value creation.
- LP Diversification: High-net-worth individuals and family offices are seeking digital offerings and necessary liquidity pools to diversify their portfolios and gain exposure within Private Equity.
Investment Platform
ACE offers three core investment strategies across the stages of private investment: Venture, Buyout, and Secondary. Our portfolio construction guidelines ensure that our investors access the necessary customization to achieve their risk and return requirements.
ACE aims to drive returns by managing risks; strategically adjusting investment exposure to the stage of a company’s development. We strongly believe that diversification and sizing of investments to the risk profile is the most accretive approach to investing private capital.
ACE’s specialized investment teams provide the support to create long-term and sustainable investment results.
Venture
ACE’s Venture strategy targets world-class founders, scaling category leaders across major software verticals, with the greatest potential to generate billion-dollar outcomes. By leveraging ACE’s international network of sourcing partners, entrepreneurs, and advisors, investors gain privileged access to the fastest-growing opportunities globally. The strategy focuses primarily on scalable, technologically differentiated, and execution-driven companies, targeting both the early and growth stages of their lifecycle through dedicated funds for each investment stage.
| Portfolio Managers | Charles Lorenceau / Steve Salom |
| Average Holding Period | 4-10 years |
| Portfolio Holdings | 88 companies |
| Total Assets | $224mm |
| Vehicles | AESP I* / AVO I* |
| Vintages: 2014 / 2016 | |
| AESP II / AVO II | |
| Vintages: 2017 / 2017 | |
| AESP III / AVO III | |
| Vintages: 2021 / 2020 | |
| ASTO | |
| Vintage: 2023 |
AESP – ACE Early Stage / AVO – ACE Venture Opportunities / ASTO – ACE Swiss Tech Outliers
Buyout
ACE’s Buyout strategy invests alongside top-performing private equity GPs in select opportunities in their core areas of expertise. We seek market-leading companies with sustainable competitive advantages, durable growth drivers, and highly achievable forecasts at discounts to fair value. Leveraging long-standing relationships with all the private equity ecosystem participants, we source hundreds of high-quality opportunities annually while selecting only a limited number. The resulting portfolio seeks to deliver higher returns with lower risk vs. traditional private equity funds.
| Portfolio Manager | Rob Callahan |
| Average Holding Period | 3–5 years |
| Portfolio Holdings | 56 companies |
| Total Assets | $755mm |
| Vehicles | ABO I |
| Vintage: 2012 | |
| ABO II | |
| Vintage: 2013 | |
| ABO III | |
| Vintage: 2017 | |
| ABO IV / AEMS I | |
| Vintages: 2020/2022 | |
| ABO V | |
| Vintage: 2023 |
ABO – ACE Buyout Opportunities / AEMS – ACE Emerging Managers
Secondary
ACE’s Secondary strategy offers an attractive risk-reward profile versus primary private equity investing due to blind pool risk mitigation and accelerated cash flows. In addition to acquiring the funds at more attractive prices through ACE’s strong relationships with global GPs and secondary institutions, ACE follows a methodical approach to investment analysis. Combining relationships, robust due diligence, speed, and operating in a niche area, ACE’s secondary investments program has delivered outsized returns to investors versus its peers and global benchmarks.
| Portfolio Manager | Sherif El Halwagy |
| Average Holding Period | 5 years |
| Portfolio Holdings | 288 holdings |
| Total Assets | $150mm |
| Vehicles | ASI I |
| Vintage: 2012 | |
| ASI II | |
| Vintage: 2014 | |
| ASI III | |
| Vintage: 2016 | |
| ASI IV | |
| Vintage: 2018 | |
| ASI V | |
| Vintage: 2020 | |
| ASI VI | |
| Vintage: 2022 |
ASI – ACE Secondary Investments
Investment Solutions
ACE’s Investment Solutions service consists of three business lines: Direct Mandates, Public Equity Mandates, and Fund Access Facility, through which it collaborates closely with investors to create customized investment programs that meet specific criteria, timelines, and objectives.
Direct Mandates
Our Direct Mandates offer clients a flexible, tailored approach to designing and implementing their investment strategy. Such services include structuring a holding vehicle to manage subscriptions, cash-flow monitoring, reporting, and regulation, and managing the clients’ global portfolio.
Direct mandates include opportunities to invest in direct private equity investments and provide access to expertise and insight into quality opportunities in the public equity market. These investments are managed through Actively Managed Certificates (AMC) or dedicated portfolios.
Fund Access Facility
ACE established the Fund Access Facility (FAF) to provide investors access to the quality flow of leading third-party private equity fund opportunities. ACE carefully evaluates, selects, and forms close partnerships with top-tier managers worldwide. FAF leverages the team’s specialized knowledge and extensive network to facilitate capital allocation for improved risk-adjusted returns, allowing for smaller minimum commitments.
Investors Relationships Levels
ACE collaborates with investors to create customized investment programs that meet specific criteria and objectives, adapting to the investor’s needs. Through a flexible and professional process, we raise the standard of private investment execution and quality. ACE has three levels of engagement with investors.
Core
Investors with private investment mandates across our investment platform and investment solutions
- Multi-strategy interest with a long-term portfolio approach
- Ability to structure independent holding vehicles or PartnerCo
- Priority access to team and portfolio transactions
- Asset & advisory services are available
Committed
Investors with allocation to a specific strategy in the ACE Investment Platform
- Specific sector or stage interest with defined deployment terms
- Ability to subscribe to a discretionary fund (Class A) or with an opt-out option
(Class B) - Guaranteed pro-rata allocation based on subscription
- Asset & advisory services upon request
Qualified
Investors with a deal-by-deal interest
- Access to individual opportunities based on excess capacity
- Ability to confirm qualified investor status through a QUIC agreement1
- Receive full diligence material through opt-in shares (Class C) once onboarded
- No guarantee of access or allocation
Value Positions
ACE’s value proposition is differentiated within the private equity ecosystem, offering value to various market participants.
To Investors
| +SOURCING | ACE provides unique access to investment opportunities across sectors and geographies. |
| ACE allows investors to construct a diversified portfolio, reducing idiosyncratic risk. | |
| +DILIGENCE | ACE selects opportunities following a rigorous and independent diligence process. |
| +EXECUTION | ACE selects opportunities following a rigorous and independent diligence process. |
To Sponsors
| ACE honors its commitments; to never leave sponsors “at the altar.” | |
| ACE can perform due diligence and provide a fully underwritten commitment within a few weeks. | |
| ACE collaborates openly with GPs and portfolio companies to connect investors and support business development. | |
| +RELEVANCE | ACE is the exclusive direct investment manager for clients representing $3bn of LP commitments to over 100 funds. |
Investment Circle
Indicative selection of investors that have exposure to the same portfolio companies as ACE, through ACE or independently, in the same instruments or elsewhere in the capital structure.
