The New Private Markets Podcast

There is increasingly widespread acknowledgement that physical climate risks are becoming material to private markets portfolios, but investors are still struggling to fully integrate these considerations into their decision making.

In this episode of The New Private Markets Podcast, we speak to Cambridge Associates partner emeritus Simon Hallett. He previously led the EMEA endowment and foundation practice, but since 2021 has served as head of climate strategy, and now advises the full range of the firm's clients on integrating climate into their portfolios.

Tune in to hear:

How private markets investors have improved their ability to measure and report climate risk, which still isn't translating into how deals are actually underwritten, valued or exited.

Why the non-linear, self-reinforcing nature of climate risk makes it uniquely hard to price.

Why investors should focus on building resilient portfolios and scrutinising managers now, rather than waiting for better data, because the risk window is closing faster than the data can catch up.

At last year's GIIN Impact forum, LeapFrog Investments founder Andy Kuper compared artificial intelligence with the domestication of fire, the invention of farming and the French Revolution in its capacity to grant people agency over their own lives.

Kuper is one of the most recognisable names in impact investing. He founded LeapFrog in 2007 to make investments that unite profit with purpose; companies the firm has invested in have reached 622 million people, of whom 460 million are emerging consumers. LeapFrog now works with large institutions such as Temasek, Prudential and AIA to deploy impact capital in emerging markets.

In this episode, we explore how the rapid integration of AI is transforming the markets in which LeapFrog operates. Consumers in developing markets, Kuper notes, are far more optimistic about AI than those in the West, and perhaps with good reason: companies in LeapFrog's portfolio are already leveraging AI to deliver better products to consumers.

Beyond AI, Kuper explains how strong governance and sustainability credentials in the firm's portcos generate a "LeapFrog premium" on exits, and he offers advice on how investors new to emerging markets impact can start to build exposure.

In light of geopolitical and macroeconomic challenges, how are investors approaching large-scale impact investing today?

Last month, New Private Markets hosted its first webcast. With the help of Brookfield's Kelly Goddard, TPG's Steve Ellis and Cambridge Associates' Tom Mitchell, we dissected the Impact 75 – our list of the largest managers of impact capital – and what it tells us about the current state of play for impact investing in private markets.

For anyone unable to join us in July, this episode offers an abridged version of the conversation. Listen to hear our guests address some key questions for the market, including:

What LPs are looking for from impact managers in 2026;

Whether sustainability regulation is a help or a hindrance;

The extent to which it is still possible to raise capital from US institutions;

How efforts to catalyse capital flows into emerging markets impact are developing

In this episode:

Toby Mitchenall is a senior editor at PEI Group

Kelly Goddard is managing director and chief sustainability officer, energy, at Brookfield Asset Management

Tom Mitchell is a partner in the endowments and foundation practice at Cambridge Associates

Steve Ellis is co-managing partner at TPG

Given the scorching temperatures much of Europe has been facing this summer, it's not surprising that physical climate risk is high on the agenda for many investors. But actually getting to grips with the topic remains an ongoing process.

In this episode, we speak to Nicolas Schneider, senior research engineer and macroeconomist at EDHEC Climate Institute. Earlier this year, EDHEC launched EDHEC-CLIRMAP (EDHEC-Climate-Induced Regional Macroimpacts Projector), an interactive tool that helps investors understand how specific regions will be affected economically under various warming scenarios. Find more information on it here.

Schneider visited PEI Group's London office during London Climate Action Week in June for a conversation NPM‘s Toby Mitchenall. In addition to discussing CLIRMAP in more detail, Schneider covers a range of issues important for investors, including:

Why markets are currently mispricing physical climate risk, and how that risk feeds into asset valuations.

The crucial distinction between headline-grabbing acute events and the "elephant in the room" of chronic, compounding climate risk.

The scale of projected GDP losses under a 3°C scenario and what it means for large institutional portfolios.

In this bonus episode, we get taken inside the ACP OeEB Climate Impact Fund, a climate-focused fund of funds targeting private equity and infrastructure strategies in emerging markets.

Hannes Manndorff is managing director at Austrian development finance institution Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB), which is currently deploying (and raising additional third-party capital for) its emerging markets impact strategy.

In a conversation recorded on the sidelines of the Impact Investor Global Summit earlier this year, Manndorff talks us through the strategy, including the target returns, investment pace, co-investment appetite and geographical remit of the fund. He also tells us what OeEB looks for in a GP and what red flags will cause it to back away from a commitment.

Our upcoming live webcast: On July 29th, we will be hosting a live conversation with Brookfield Asset Management, TPG and Cambridge Associates to discuss the findings of our Impact 75. Register to attend.