OCIO Cerity seeks proof of exits as clients raise bar for venture funds - PEI Private Equity

According to PEI Private Equity, Cerity Partners' Kyle Adams has outlined the criteria that firms overseeing institutional portfolios now apply when evaluating venture capital funds. The "new price of admission," in his description, is a proven track record, strategy flexibility and DPI. For allocators, DPI has become a central test, since it measures how much capital a fund has actually returned to limited partners relative to what was paid in, rather than relying on reported valuations of unrealized holdings.

The article, written by Brett Johnson, places the change in the context of endowments and family offices that are increasing scrutiny of venture managers. Exit activity has been a persistent concern across the venture sector, and clients are asking managers to demonstrate realizations before committing new capital. For OCIO providers such as Cerity, which allocate across managers on behalf of institutional and private clients, this means that managers without a meaningful exit history face a higher bar for inclusion in portfolios.

The full article is short and the publisher summary offers limited additional detail on specific fund examples, return figures or deal values, so the analysis above is confined to the criteria described by Adams and the investor base driving them.