April 28, 2025
As part of ION Analytics’ Influencer Fireside Chat series, Kelly Barofsky, a Director in GEM’s Investment Research Group, sat down with Giovanni Amodeo for an in-depth discussion on how GEM defines, sources, and selects investment opportunities in the lower mid-market. Kelly begins by outlining her journey to investment management before elaborating on the attributes that make the lower mid-market an attractive market segment. They then discussed why GEM believes sector specialization is an advantage for managers, the implications of growing a fund slowly vs. scaling more quickly, and how we assess a manager’s ability to translate their strategy into true value creation for their portfolio companies. Kelly concludes by providing an outlook for the market, noting the resilience of GEM’s buyout portfolio while also acknowledging a challenging IPO environment and ongoing investor concerns related to tariffs, recession risk, and the broader macroeconomic landscape.
Watch the full conversation below.
Kelly Barofsky, a Director in GEM’s Investment Research Group, joined Giovanni Amodeo at ION Analytics to discuss GEM’s approach to identifying opportunities in the lower mid-market, including the importance of sector specialization and manager-investor alignment.
Jay Ripley, Head of Investments, spoke with FundFire about the recent close of GEM’s inaugural independent sponsors fund and shared the importance of manager diligence in establishing long-term GP-LP relationships.
Potential policy changes have led many universities to consider shoring up cash reserves. Co-CIO Matt Bank spoke to the Wall Street Journal about the heightened uncertainty these schools are facing relative to previous economic downturns.
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