Warnings of culture risk in private markets

By Sophie Downes

The accelerating industry push into private markets carries cultural as well as illiquidity risks, said Justin Onuekwusi, CEO of investments at St James’s Place, as reported in Citywire.

Speaking at a City Hive event, Onuekwusi warned the structural mechanics of private market investing make corporate culture a far more critical risk metric than in standard public equities.

‘Culture changes and it evolves,’ Onuekwusi said. ‘It’s actually almost more important now than ever to really keep their eyes on culture and think about what are the risks as this changes, because you are in a strategy for a significant period of time.’

City Hive founder and co-CEO Bev Shah highlighted that in times of stress or liquidity freezes – such as property fund gating – a firm’s underlying culture determines whether it will genuinely act in the best interest of client assets or prioritise protecting its own management fees.