Key Takeaways
- • David Rubenstein's family office, Declaration Partners, is actively pursuing deal-making activity in emerging markets, particularly Africa, citing attractive risk-reward trade-offs compared to developed markets.
- • Rubenstein's family office has spun out Hobe Mountain Capital, a standalone secondaries investment firm led by former internal executives, to focus specifically on acquiring second-hand stakes in private asset vehicles.
- • The family office is expanding its team and investment capabilities, positioning itself for scaled direct deal-making and alternative asset investments beyond its parent operations.
- • Rubenstein, who co-founded Carlyle Group in 1987 with William Conway and Daniel D'Aniello, is leveraging his institutional PE expertise to build an independent family office with institutional-grade investment infrastructure.
- • Large family offices in emerging markets, particularly in the Middle East and Asia, are expected to reshape the private equity landscape by executing more direct deals, a thesis Rubenstein's operations appear to be validating.
Summary
David Rubenstein, co-founder of The Carlyle Group, is actively building out his family office with an expanded team and strategic deal-making initiatives across multiple investment verticals. Declaration Partners, Rubenstein's family office vehicle, is pursuing deals with a particular focus on emerging markets, notably Africa, where the investment thesis centers on superior risk-adjusted returns relative to traditional developed-market opportunities.
A significant operational development involves the spinout of Hobe Mountain Capital, a dedicated secondaries investment platform launched by Rubenstein's family office. This standalone firm, led by former internal executives, specializes in acquiring second-hand stakes in private asset vehicles—a strategy that allows the family office to access mature private equity and private credit positions at potentially discounted valuations while building scale in a specialized niche.
The expansion of Rubenstein's family office team and investment infrastructure reflects a broader strategic pivot toward operating with institutional-quality deal execution capabilities. Rather than remaining primarily a capital allocator, the family office is building operating teams capable of originating and executing direct investments, mirroring structures historically associated with mega-scale institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds.
Rubenstein has articulated a thesis that large family offices, particularly those headquartered in the Middle East and Asia, will materially reshape the private equity landscape by deploying capital into direct deals rather than relying exclusively on fund commitments. His own family office's activities—spanning emerging market direct investments, secondaries strategies, and team expansion—appear designed to position Declaration Partners as a scaled participant in this evolving family office ecosystem. This reflects both a capital deployment strategy and a recognition that family offices with sufficient scale and expertise can compete directly with traditional institutional PE managers across multiple investment categories.
A significant operational development involves the spinout of Hobe Mountain Capital, a dedicated secondaries investment platform launched by Rubenstein's family office. This standalone firm, led by former internal executives, specializes in acquiring second-hand stakes in private asset vehicles—a strategy that allows the family office to access mature private equity and private credit positions at potentially discounted valuations while building scale in a specialized niche.
The expansion of Rubenstein's family office team and investment infrastructure reflects a broader strategic pivot toward operating with institutional-quality deal execution capabilities. Rather than remaining primarily a capital allocator, the family office is building operating teams capable of originating and executing direct investments, mirroring structures historically associated with mega-scale institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds.
Rubenstein has articulated a thesis that large family offices, particularly those headquartered in the Middle East and Asia, will materially reshape the private equity landscape by deploying capital into direct deals rather than relying exclusively on fund commitments. His own family office's activities—spanning emerging market direct investments, secondaries strategies, and team expansion—appear designed to position Declaration Partners as a scaled participant in this evolving family office ecosystem. This reflects both a capital deployment strategy and a recognition that family offices with sufficient scale and expertise can compete directly with traditional institutional PE managers across multiple investment categories.
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