We closed our first fund, Armen GP Stakes Fund I, at the end of July 2025 with just under €300 million¹ in commitments. Looking back, it was both exciting and challenging. We were launching not only a smart way to gain exposure to Private Markets but also a pioneering initiative in Europe. The Armen team, drawn from reputable GPs, applied decades of investment experience to what we know best—GPs—making the endeavor both relevant and stimulating.

At the same time, it was difficult—at times, like crawling over glass—for a variety of reasons, which we should be transparent about.

While the asset class is well established in the U.S., where market leaders manage multi-billion-dollar funds, in Europe it was a matter of market education—and the learning curve was long and steep.

We faced what we called our “three firsts”: (i) first European GP Stakes strategy, (ii) first-time fund, and (iii) first-time team.

Market timing was also challenging. To put this in context: first-time funds accounted for nearly 10% of total capital raised in 2021, a figure that declined to around 3% in 2025, according to Preqin (including first-time funds launched by existing platforms—so “true” first-timers represented only a fraction of that).

We were competing for a shrinking share of capital amid an unstable geopolitical environment that fueled LP uncertainty and anxiety—Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (Feb 2022), the Hamas attack on Israel (Oct 2023), the dissolution of France’s National Assembly (June 2024), and a wave of general elections across the UK (July 2024), the U.S. (Nov 2024), and Germany (Feb 2025). Add to that central bank rate hikes to combat inflation—which dampened private markets allocations—and the denominator effect from volatile public markets.

Private equity markets were broadly depressed: lower M&A activity, fewer distributions, and a concentration of commitments toward the largest and most established funds. Capital available to first-time managers and new strategies was limited.

Against that backdrop, we were pleased to close Fund I on July 31, 2025 at approximately €270 million, and we are deeply grateful to our LPs and the group of family offices that backed us. At a European scale, this represents a meaningful achievement and positions us well to pursue the opportunity we see ahead.

Europe has faced its share of bad press recently, but from a macro perspective, it remains the largest integrated market and the world’s second-largest economy, spanning 28 countries. It represents circa €16 trillion in GDP, 530 million consumers, and 23 million corporates. Europe also benefits from distinctive strengths:

Europe often undersells itself, but these fundamentals remain highly compelling on a global scale. In Private Markets, Europe’s share of global fundraising has grown, from 19% in 2021 to 27% in the first nine months of 2025—illustrating the sector’s positive momentum.

Within this, we see an accelerating opportunity in European GP Stakes. While the U.S. market is mature and competitive—offering established players stable returns—Europe remains underpenetrated, particularly in the mid-market GP segment. The opportunity set is attractive: roughly 1,000 mid-market GPs, less than €700 million of capital raised specifically to address the space, and only two active GP Stakes firms.

The underlying demand for Private Markets also remains strong. Institutional LPs typically allocate 10–20% of portfolios to the asset class, and many intend to increase exposure (Partners Group survey). Retail and HNW allocations are still nascent in Europe (3–5%, and often near 0%) compared with around 40% for large family offices. Growth in Defined Contribution plans and expanding access via life insurance products also represent long-term structural tailwinds.

That said, this opportunity is not easy to capture. Europe’s complexity presents challenges: diverse legal and regulatory regimes across countries—particularly the UK, France, Germany, and Benelux—require local expertise and deep experience. Each market has its own rules on minority ownership, investor protections, and private equity operations. Successful navigation demands on-the-ground presence, established relationships, and cultural understanding.

Finally, trust is a core ingredient. Having operated in these markets, close to GPs and their teams through both up and down cycles, is essential. Many of us have created, scaled, and sold GPs ourselves—experiences that cannot be built overnight.

At the outset, we assumed it would take longer to convince GPs to open their capital—and that fundraising would be faster. We were wrong; the opposite proved true. Nonetheless, we’re very pleased with the initial partnerships we have secured.

We have focused on GPs with clear differentiation, strong growth prospects, scalability, and visibility on exit scenarios that align with a closed-end fund structure. Fund I is now more than 50% invested across five GPs in France, Belgium and the UK.

As a key metric, the combined AUM of these five GPs was €10.5 billion at entry (2023–2025 deals) and has since grown to €15.7 billion, reflecting healthy progress in a short timeframe.

We also invested, from Armen’s balance sheet, in Private Corner, a digital platform that provides feeder access to PE funds for mass affluent investors. Private Corner operates independently in fund selection and is currently distributing Blue Owl’s latest fund, having previously distributed Committed Advisors with excellent results.

This is only the beginning of our journey in Europe. The road ahead will require agility, persistence, and hard work. The U.S. experience provides both humility and a strong sense of direction—but the European market offers its own unique promise.

^{(1) Not including Armen’s co-investment capabilities.}

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“Armen SAS is a French portfolio management company approved on 07/09/2022 by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) under number GP-202222, and is subject to prudential supervision in France. Armen SAS is also registered as an Exempt Reporting Adviser (ERA) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under number 802-128669. This document is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, an offer to buy, sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or financial instrument, nor should it be relied upon as such. Nothing herein should be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to invest in, or refrain from investing in, any transaction or securities. All opinions and views expressed reflect Armen’s judgment as of the date of publication and may change without notice. While the information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, Armen makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to its accuracy or completeness. Past performance is not indicative of future results.”