When Andbank’s alternatives division began its co-investment push, the starting point was straightforward: the firm had been deploying into primary funds since 2017, building relationships with GPs on both sides of the Atlantic. Those relationships became the infrastructure for something more direct.
“Before, we were doing fund of funds at around 70% and co-investments at 30%,” says Álvaro González, who heads private equity at Andbank’s asset management platform. “Now we’re deploying 100% directly through co-investments and GP-leds.”
The shift reflects a broader view on where value is migrating in private markets. González argues that the current fundraising environment — where primary funds are finding it harder to close capital — has created a meaningful opening for co-investors. GPs are more willing to offer deal access, whether as a fee concession to existing LPs or through SPVs open to outside co-investors. For Andbank, this means deal flow without the drag of a blind pool.
The firm evaluates roughly one to two deals per month across North America and Europe, applying a proprietary 90-parameter framework that covers margin quality, revenue growth, valuation relative to comparable transactions, sector trajectory, and management team. González is clear that the compressed timeline — co-investors rarely get the months a lead GP spent on diligence — requires both trust in the GP sponsor and a disciplined internal process.
“You have to believe in the GP, because all the information you receive- the VDR, the due diligence- comes from them,” he says. “So the diligence you do on the GP is as important as the diligence on the deal.”
Andbank works with an established GP network but does not exclude newer managers or sponsorless deals — González notes that sponsorless transactions carry higher risk but have historically shown stronger returns in the data, requiring deeper independent diligence to compensate for the absence of a financial sponsor’s oversight.
On sector allocation, González takes a deliberately agnostic approach. The firm’s current portfolio of 22 co-investments spans healthcare, technology, retail, and education — but that distribution is, in his words, “involuntary.” Quality, not theme, drives selection. If a compelling housing deal surfaced tomorrow, he says, he would take it.
Structurally, Andbank typically sets up SPVs — either alongside the lead GP’s vehicle or, in the US, as a standalone single-purpose entity incorporated in Delaware. The firm avoids offshore structures such as Cayman or Jersey. Where co-investments come from GPs in which Andbank is not yet an LP, González uses the deal relationship as a deliberate entry point: demonstrating commitment on a fee-free basis, with the expectation that it positions Andbank to commit to a future primary fund once its main allocation program reopens.
“It’s a good way to start a relationship,” he says. “You’ve met the GP, you’ve seen how they invest, you understand their quality — and then you can make a larger commitment.”
On the outlook for the asset class, González does not hedge: he believes the primaries model is structurally weakening. The advantages of co-investment — immediate deployment, lower fee load, asset-level selection — point to a rebalancing he expects will be significant. “The 2-and-20 will represent a much lower proportion of LP portfolios in the future,” he says. “I think it will divide by four, or more.”
For Andbank, conference attendance is part of the sourcing infrastructure. González estimates he can meet 10 to 20 GPs in a single visit to a focused private markets event — and points to deals that have been originated directly from in-person introductions.
