Investment masterclass in Private Assets School of Business and Economics for Professionals

Investment masterclass in Private Assets

The Masterclass consists of five sessions delivered across two days. Each is designed to address critical areas of private investing with clear learning goals and fresh perspectives:

Understanding the Private Assets Landscape
- Topics: Evolution of private markets; trends in capital flows; segmentation (equity, debt, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources).
- Learning goals: Holistic understanding of private assets in portfolios, macro drivers, pension fund allocation case studies.
Debates in Illiquidity, Valuation, and Performance Measurement
- Topics: Illiquidity premia; valuation methodologies; benchmarking; IRR vs. PME.
- Learning goals: Frameworks for illiquidity risk, valuation challenges, comparing private vs. public investments.
The Future of Manager Selection and Due Diligence
- Topics: GP quality, fund terms, alignment of interests, co-investments, AI and new technologies.
- Learning goals: Robust manager evaluation, spotting misalignments, executing co-investments, understanding tech disruptions.
Whereto with ESG and Impact in Private Assets
- Topics: ESG integration, impact measurement, SFDR compliance, climate risk.
- Learning goals: Embedding ESG in decisions, regulatory awareness, methodologies for impact.
Innovations in Portfolio Construction and Secondaries
- Topics: Portfolio design, J-curve management, secondaries, GP-led transactions, NAV-based lending.
- Learning goals: Balancing illiquidity/diversification, leveraging secondaries strategically, understanding NAV-based solutions.

Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Session 5

Session 1: Impact Goals

Learning Objectives

Learning Objective 1: to develop a nuanced understanding of how to set meaningful and achievable impact goals.
Learning Objective 2: to understand how to align impact goals with broader sustainable development objectives and investment strategies.
Learning Objective 3: to understand how a theory of change helps to formulate an impact investing strategy.

Session 2: 3D Portfolio Allocation

Learning Objectives

Learning Objective 1: to understand how to integrate impact as a third dimension alongside risk and return in portfolio construction.
Learning Objective 2: to learn about strategies how to balance financial returns, risk management, and positive impact.
Learning Objective 3: to understand to what extend impact investors agree with lower expected returns

Session 3: Selection of Investees

Learning Objectives

Learning Objective 1: to learn about how to evaluate potential investees based on their capacity to deliver both financial returns and meaningful impact.
Learning Objective 2: to learn how impact due diligence is conducted and can inform financial and risk analysis

Session 4: Monitoring and Evaluation of Impact

Learning Objectives

Learning Objective 1: to develop skills to critically analyse and communicate impact performance to various stakeholders.
Learning Objective 2: to understand different approaches to measure impact.

Session 5: Final Presentations

Learning Objective

Final assignment

Session 1
Session 1: Impact Goals

Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1: to develop a nuanced understanding of how to set meaningful and achievable impact goals.

Learning Objective 2: to understand how to align impact goals with broader sustainable development objectives and investment strategies.

Learning Objective 3: to understand how a theory of change helps to formulate an impact investing strategy.
Session 2
Session 2: 3D Portfolio Allocation

Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1: to understand how to integrate impact as a third dimension alongside risk and return in portfolio construction.

Learning Objective 2: to learn about strategies how to balance financial returns, risk management, and positive impact.

Learning Objective 3: to understand to what extend impact investors agree with lower expected returns
Session 3
Session 3: Selection of Investees

Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1: to learn about how to evaluate potential investees based on their capacity to deliver both financial returns and meaningful impact.

Learning Objective 2: to learn how impact due diligence is conducted and can inform financial and risk analysis
Session 4
Session 4: Monitoring and Evaluation of Impact

Learning Objectives
Learning Objective 1: to develop skills to critically analyse and communicate impact performance to various stakeholders.

Learning Objective 2: to understand different approaches to measure impact.
Session 5

Session 5: Final Presentations

Learning Objective

Final assignment

Faculty

Our faculty comprises academics with decades of hands-on industry experience and practitioners who have managed large funds and influence policy at the highest levels. This unique blend of theoretical knowledge and practical expertise ensures that participants receive a comprehensive, applicable education in impact investing.
Academic Advisors
- Dr Alfred Slager: Professor VU School of Business and Economics. Non-executive board member at pension fund ABP
- Dr Kees Koedijk: Professor of Finance Utrecht University
- Dr Ronald Huisman: Professor of Sustainable Energy Finance at Erasmus School of Economics and Utrecht University School of Economics. Entrepreneur
- Dr. Mohamad Kaakeh: Assistant Professor of Finance at Utrecht University - School of Economics (U.S.E).
Guest Lecturers
- Dr Marcel Jeucken: Managing Director SustFin.
- Geraldine Leegwater: Chief Investment Management and member of the Executive Committee PGGM
- Robin Claushuis: Manager Sustainability Consulting KPMG
- Florian Bankeman: Fund Manager at Triodos Investment Management
Programme lead and content manager

- Bernarda Coello: Expert in sustainable development
Teaching approach
Our course employs a blended learning model. It consists of five on-campus sessions and learning activities to prepare for those sessions.
Preparation before each session.
- Watch a set of concise pre-recorded lectures from our academic staff and links to others covering theoretical foundations and current academic debates.
- Read literature and empirical studies to complement the video content.
On campus:
- Start the day with a Q&A session lead by one of our academic staff members about the theoretical content presented in the videos and discussed in the literature.
- Followed by a lecture provided by one of our guest lecturers focusing on practical implications.
- The day ends with a case study session: this addresses practical application of theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios through group work and problem-solving exercises.
This approach is designed to foster critical thinking and encourage participants to challenge existing practices and knowledge in impact investing.

Investment masterclass in Private Assets

Session 1

Learning Objectives

Session 2

Learning Objectives

Session 3

Learning Objectives

Session 4

Learning Objectives

Session 5

Learning Objective

Faculty and teaching approach

Faculty

Teaching approach

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