Global private investments firm Flexstone Partners, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, and Hostplus, a top-performing Australian superannuation fund, will start a U.S. private equity emerging managers program dedicated to Hostplus and designed to provide risk-adjusted investment solutions to qualifying Hostplus members.

The emerging managers program will see Flexstone Partners invest over the next three years in the first, second or third funds of US mid-market private equity managers on behalf of the industry superannuation fund.

“We believe successful US emerging managers program members tend to deliver higher fund returns, on average, compared to the returns of their former funds. In addition, with their successes, when they become more established, emerging managers may become increasingly difficult to access, as Limited Partners compete to get capacity.”

“The breadth and experience of the Flexstone team allows us to detect, access, and perform due diligence on emerging managers that may become a core of the future allocation of our client,” said Nitin Gupta, Managing Partner at Flexstone Partners. “We are excited to start this long-term initiative with a strong partner like Hostplus.”

“For Hostplus, developing and maintaining long-term partnerships with investment managers is critical to securing privileged access to successor funds and future deal flow,” said Sam Sicilia, Chief Investment Officer of Hostplus. “More than anywhere else, managing relationships with market leaders is particularly important for access to private markets. We are very pleased to team up with Flexstone Partners, who have proved to be a strong partner in the US market.”

“This partnership between Hostplus and Flexstone is a demonstration of super funds’ search for new and diverse income streams for their members, and how our global multi-affiliate model can provide institutions with tailored solutions in new markets, while supporting innovation,” said Louise Watson, Managing Director for Australia at Natixis Investment Managers. “I look forward to continuing the conversations with Hostplus on a wide range of unique investment strategies, with Natixis’ highly active managers.”