PARTNER WITH US
RCP’s Respected Name and Leadership Position Have Attracted Many Leading Managers, as well as a Diverse Investor Base
With two decades of experience, RCP Advisors is established as a leading investor in the highly attractive North American lower middle market private equity market. RCP started in 2001 as a primary fund-of-funds sponsor in this burgeoning market. Later, RCP successfully added secondary fund and co-investment investment solutions within this same market niche. In 2020, RCP combined with Five Points to offer private credit solutions to its sponsor relationships. In doing so, RCP offers a full and diversified suite of investment products up and down the balance sheet of top private equity-owned small and mid-size American companies.
A partnership culture and the forging of strong and lasting relationships has been key to RCP’s success. RCP Advisors’ primary mission is to provide excellent investment returns to its investors. RCP makes and maintains relationships with a variety of constituents to help achieve this goal. These parties include private equity general partners (who are seeking partners for a new buyout fund, co-investors for a new investment, or loans for a portfolio company), other limited partners (who are seeking a secondary buyer to acquire existing interests in a fund), or sophisticated investors around the globe (who invest in RCP or Five Points-sponsored funds).
If you are a general partner or portfolio company, a potential seller of fund interests, or a potential limited partner, please browse through the appropriate section to learn more about how RCP and you can work together.
FUND MANAGERS
RCP is a niche specialist focused on North American buyout managers in the lower middle market. RCP typically targets manager raising funds sized from $250 million and $1 billion in capital commitments; these managers will then generally seek to buy companies that have between $10 million and $250 million of enterprise value.
Within the lower middle market buyout community, RCP is a credible and sought-after partner. The Firm is a thought leader within its community and sits on the advisory boards of numerous buyout funds. RCP’s relationships with general partners often goes beyond its role as a primary limited partner; GPs are often the first to become aware of liquidity needs within their investor ranks, and they seek a knowledgeable, known, and discrete partner as a potential secondary buyer of these investor interests. RCP is an active buyer of secondary interests, and a significant amount of historical deal flow has come from strong GP relationships. Similarly, RCP believes GPs seeking co-investors in their deals find RCP to be an active and reliable participant in co-investment activities.
SECONDARY SELLERS
RCP Advisors is an active secondary purchaser of limited partner interests in private equity funds. Secondary funds possess attributes which may be particularly attractive, including the ability to purchase private equity assets at a discount, a shorter holding period and earlier cash returns, a muted “J Curve”, and reduced blind pool risk.
Since the Firm’s inception, RCP has focused on the lower middle buyout market. With this comes a wealth of relationships and research information on funds and companies that is valuable for secondary market activities. The relationships that RCP has with lower middle market GPs are valuable in sourcing secondary opportunities, obtaining high level access to pricing research, and obtaining consents for transfer. Approximately half of RCP’s secondary purchase volume is either sourced proprietarily through GPs or is in partnerships in which RCP’s primary funds are already an existing investor. RCP believes that its information and access advantages along with its bottom-up underwriting process give it a number of important advantages as a secondary investor. RCP’s focus on smaller secondary purchases in smaller funds affords RCP the opportunity to find significant value in a market that may be too small or opaque for larger competitors.
CO-INVESTMENT PARTNERS
RCP’s goal is to assemble a diverse and high-quality portfolio of co-investments which will provide excellent financial returns to its investors. RCP believes that it has the experience and skills to achieve these goals.
RCP also understands the intricacies and subtleties of the buyout deal process and knows that a co-investor’s process must fit harmoniously with the lead sponsor’s process. RCP’s investment process is designed to be quick, smart, and reliable. We realize that the best co-investment opportunities are eagerly sought after by potential investors. Therefore, we strive to be the co-investor of choice by making good decisions for our investors while being a good partner to the lead sponsor who made the opportunity possible.
SPONSORS, FUND MANAGERS, AND BORROWERS
Founded in 1997, Five Points Credit provides flexible financing solutions in support of sponsor-led buyout transactions. Five Points’ credit capabilities span unitranche, second lien, mezzanine, and equity co-investments. Five Points’ strategy is to build long-term relationships with experienced private equity sponsors by providing financing certainty, add-on investment capacity, and taking a partnership approach to building value.
LIMITED PARTNERS
RCP has a large and very diverse roster of limited partners in its various investment partnerships. RCP believes it has a strong reputation with private investors (including family offices and clients of leading private wealth management firms) and institutional investors alike. RCP’s investor base is truly global, with limited partners based in 37 different countries on 6 different continents.*
RCP works with limited partners directly and through their consultants. RCP has long maintained strong relationships with some of the leading investment consultants in the world.
*As of 8/1/23