Green shoots of growth: Finding alpha in emerging managers

Funds editor Harriet Matthews hosts senior reporter Gustav
Hoejmark-Jensen to discuss the role that emerging managers are
playing in green technology investing. Hoejmark-Jensen explores
the topic in an interview with Kim Pochon, senior vice president
at Unigestion, and Laurits Bach Sørensen, co-founder and senior
partner at Nordic Alpha Partners (NAP).


Pochon is part of Unigestion’s emerging manager programme, which
aims to spot the next trends and next generation of funds
managers and value creation models.


Through its emerging manager programme, Unigestion has been among
the first backers of now-behemoth funds such as Carlyle, Permira,
EQT and Hg, and it was also an early investor in managers such
Archimed, Ambienta and Blackfin.


Pochon shares insights on the role of the programme in the
emerging manger ecosystem, his views on the fund-of funds-market,
and Unigestion’s approach to spotting future GP concepts. He also
discusses the programme’s latest allocations and what made them
invest in Nordic Alpha Partners’ new fund, focused on green tech
growth buyouts.


Bach Sørensen discusses how NAP has overcome apparent challenges
in the green tech and hardtech space via a highly operational and
perhaps unorthodox approach to creating value, de-risking growth
and rapid scaling of industrial green tech companies. Bach
Sørensen also shares insights on the firm's latest strategic exit
to US tech giant Tesla, after its portfolio company Wiferion
experienced years of hypergrowth during NAP's tenure.


In the final part of the joint interview, Pochon and Bach
Sørensen elaborate on the partnership between the two firms, with
the editorial team returning at the end to discuss some key
takeways from the conversation.


Founded in 2017 and now delivering CAGR of 78% on its debut fund,
abating one million tons of CO2, NAP recently held a EUR 150m
first close for its new fund, surpassing the volume of its EUR
126m first fund and attracting LPs such as Allianz Global
Investors, Copenhagen Infrasturcture Partners, and Unigestion.


With a hard-cap of EUR 300m, NAP will continue to fundraise
throughout 2023 for the SFDR Article 9 compliant second vehicle,
Nordic Alpha Partners Fund II. The GP has already made its first
deployment in Swedish-Polish photovoltaic developer Sunroof,
alongside World Fund and Legal & General Capital.


1:39 – Challenges for GPs and LPs


5:55 – Interview with Kim Pochon of Unigestion and Laurits Bach
Sørensen of Nordic Alpha Partners


6:14 – Unigestion’s outlook on emerging managers

9:16 – Finding emerging managers

11:30 – Why Unigestion invested in Nordic Alpha Partners

13:55 – Nordic Alpha Partners’ outlook on deployment

15:37 – Bridging the early-stage and growth green tech gap

19:29 – Derisking and deal sourcing

26:13 – Partnering with Unigestion

30:40 – Nordic Alpha Partners’ Wiferion exit



34:22 – Key takeaways


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Theme music: 2012 Kick Up The Fire