JPMorgan Packed Tiger Fund With Wealthy Clients for Private Bets
Bank pooled about $4.8 billion for new Tiger, Coatue VC funds
It’s part of trend as banks help such vehicles raise billions
Excerpt
Originally published June 15, 2022 at 11:07am EST
As wealthy investors clamored to get into Tiger Global Management’s ever-soaring bets on startups, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s ability to funnel cash to the high-flying money manager became the envy of rivals.
Now, with Tiger’s public investments cratering and all eyes on what happens to its stakes in private companies, the bank’s prestigious offering to clients is cutting the other way.
JPMorgan raced past the likes of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to source more capital for Chase Coleman’s Tiger empire just as it neared its zenith. That made JPMorgan’s customers, collectively, one of the top sources of cash for Tiger’s newest and largest-ever venture-capital fund, contributing $1.9 billion to the vehicle known as PIP 15 before fundraising closed in March. Months before that, the bank tapped a similar client pool to amass $2.9 billion for a new venture fund for Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management.
But Tiger has been dramatically humbled this year, becoming the talk ofWall Street. Its main hedge fund tumbled 52% through May, hurt mainly by declines in publicly traded stocks. While the firm has kept PIP 15’s valuations relatively steady so far, the market for venture-capital investments -- that fund’s domain -- is cooling.
“Valuations in public markets often inform valuation of private markets,”said Nancy Vailakis, a principal with Ancram IRBD, which helps private funds raise money. A bet on private assets “feels less assured than before.” […]