Tom Duffy

Um,

And it's important to note this event has grown drastically over the last five, 10 years since we've been going, in part because McGuire Woods as a firm has really done a terrific job, but also because this segment of the market has been experiencing really massive increase in size.

The independent sponsor model has existed in various forms for decades.

Its success over the past several years, both in terms of deal by deal returns and in serving as a pathway to raising a committed fund.

it is starting to attract more seasoned investors who have left established PE firms to launch their own independent platforms or hang a shingle, as we like to say.

This shift has really raised the overall quality of professionals in the market that was previously populated largely by younger investors without an attributable track record or

Ex-bankers or consultants who are seeking to transition into investing or even operators pursuing deals in their niche areas of focus.

Even as recently as a decade ago, when we started in this segment of the market, David, we started back in 2014 at TIFF.

encountering an independent sponsor at the time was a relatively rare occurrence.

But today, this universe has grown.

It encompasses a huge, wide range of independent sponsor types and profiles.

There's even a large ecosystem of lawyers, lenders, intermediaries, and investors who are catering to these sponsors.

And that's expanded as well, which really highlights the maturation of this place.

Some people even ask us a different question is, are we worried by how much this market segment has grown?

The easy answer to that question is no.

And I'll take a minute to explain why.

As this market has expanded, sure, by definition, more low quality or undifferentiated managers are entering the market.

But at the same time,

There's more experience in high potential managers are launching as independent sponsors, which is really great for us.

In our view, having a clear view of what defines an exceptional sponsor is essential for long-term market success.