Hamilton Lane Switzerland Private Wealth Solutions Group principal Rainer Kobler, began his speech at the Globes Family Business Conference by saying that for years, private markets have been considered a complex field with limited access, but he added that it is impossible to ignore the fact that this is one of the investment avenues with the ability to perform strongly and well over time.
"For years, those who invested in this field were mainly large and sophisticated institutional investors. We at Hamilton Lane have now made the private markets field accessible, easy and simple for the Israeli investor, as we do for investors in Canada, the US, Australia, Switzerland and more," he said.
Hamilton Lane was founded in 1991 and was listed for trading on Nasdaq in 2017. Today, it is one of the world's leading companies in private markets investments, having crossed the trillion-dollar threshold under management and supervision. Hamilton Lane invests between $30 billion and $40 billion annually in leading funds and companies around the world across a wide range of sectors and strategies. "The world's largest investment managers give us access to the biggest and best deals, and our investors enjoy exceptional access to the most attractive deals that are not in the market," emphasized Kobler.
When would you prefer to invest in SpaceX?
As of today, the company has 24 offices around the world, operates in more than 50 countries, and its clients include the world's largest institutional entities.
Kobler recounts that Hamilton Lane began its operations in Israel about 20 years ago. "With full faith in your innovation, entrepreneurship, and resilience," he explains. Today, the company is considered one of the most significant foreign investors in the Israeli economy, with investments totaling about $1.4 billion. "We invest in the Israeli economy and industry, in the best tech companies." Kobler shares that the company believes in Israel's ability to grow even in challenging times. "Since October 2023, we have invested about $470 million in Israel. We are convinced that Israel is an interesting market and we are here to continue investing."
Kobler addressed the question of why institutional and large investors are entering the private market. "In 1990, the number of public companies in the US was about 8,000. Today, there are only about 4,000. The number of public companies has been reduced by about half over the past 30 years, so more capital is now competing for fewer companies and the market has become more crowded. In addition, about 90% of companies with revenue over $100 million are private companies. In other words, if you invest in only the 10% of companies that are public, you are missing out on a very significant portion of the investment opportunities. However, a significant portion of the value creation in companies occurs while they are still privately owned," he said.
Kobler told the conference - "Think about SpaceX, for example - when would you prefer to invest in it? "Three years ago, at a lower valuation, or now after the IPO when the market is paying because it's exciting. Plus, in private markets you don't have the same risk of market concentration - there's no 'Magnificent Seven,' no big company like Nvidia or Google."
Kobler cited another reason to invest in private markets: "If you really want to capture long-term innovation - AI, digitization, energy, cybersecurity - all of these are in private companies. So, when you think about your portfolio and your children’s where would you rather invest, in the leading companies of today or in those that will be the leading companies of tomorrow?"
Who can invest in private markets?
Later, Kubler addressed the question of why not everyone invests in the private market. "It's one of the most complex areas of investment," he explained, "There are more than 30,000 funds and thousands of different investment managers, and each of them will tell you that they are the best. But the data show that the differences in returns between managers in the private markets can be very significant - there is a gap of between 10% and 20% in returns between the best managers and the rest of the managers. Therefore, choosing the right investment manager and the right funds is essential in the private market."
The second point Kobler addressed is managing and building an investment portfolio. "Building a portfolio is no less important than finding the right investment opportunities. Different sectors behave differently over different periods and years."
Institutional entities invested about $9 billion
Kobler observes that Hamilton Lane entered Israel in 2005 and was one of the first entities to make private markets accessible to local institutional investors. Today, Hamilton Lane manages about $9 billion in Israel for institutional entities. However, the traditional structures designed for institutions are not necessarily adapted to private investors.
He says, "As part of our effort to expand access to private markets, Hamilton Lane was one of the first to establish funds in the evergreen structure. We wanted to solve what we call the ‘10-10C problem’ that private clients face: a minimum investment of $10 million per fund, locking up money for ten years, and complex cash management of capital calls and distributions. In evergreen funds, the minimum is reduced to $100,000, liquidity becomes a monthly or quarterly mechanism, and the money is fully invested from day one and accumulates compound interest," he said.
In conclusion, Kobler noted that Hamilton Lane is one of the world’s leading investment managers in the evergreen fund sector, with about $20 billion managed in 12 funds. "You have a unique opportunity to gain access to exactly the same private investment opportunities around the world that the largest and most sophisticated institutional investors are exposed to. Join us. And in conclusion, I will repeat my words - we continue to invest in Israel because we believe in the spirit of Israeli entrepreneurship, in your innovation and in your future."
Full disclosure: The Conference was held in collaboration with LGA Israel, KPMG, Julius Baer, Hamilton Lane Israel and the GAC law firm.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 10, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.