Key Takeaways
- • Churchill Asset Management screens managers for a clear, demonstrable edge and for the discipline to stick to it, according to managing director Anne Philpott speaking to PEI Private Equity.
- • Churchill uses three tools to test manager discipline: co-investments, advisory board seats, and annual re-underwriting of existing commitments.
- • The approach frames alpha as a function of behavior, with managers judged on whether they do what they said they would do over time.
- • The discussion is aimed at limited partners evaluating private markets managers and their allocation decisions.
Summary
Churchill Asset Management, the private markets investment firm, tests managers for two qualities: a clear edge in their strategy and the discipline to adhere to it. Managing director Anne Philpott outlined this approach in an interview with PEI Private Equity, reported by Chris Witkowsky. The headline framing, that alpha starts with doing what you said you would, reflects the firm's emphasis on consistency between stated strategy and executed investments.
According to Philpott, Churchill relies on three mechanisms to assess this discipline. The first is co-investments, which allow the firm to observe a manager's deal selection and execution directly alongside the underlying investment. The second is advisory board seats, which give Churchill governance visibility into how managers handle portfolio issues and strategic decisions. The third is annual re-underwriting, under which existing commitments are periodically reassessed against the original investment thesis.
The interview positions these tools as a way to separate managers whose returns reflect repeatable capability from those whose performance drifts from their stated mandate. For limited partners and allocators, the piece underscores the importance of ongoing manager monitoring after the initial commitment, rather than relying solely on due diligence at the point of entry. The article is published in the Investors, Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America coverage areas of PEI Private Equity, with co-investments and limited partner allocations as its central themes.
According to Philpott, Churchill relies on three mechanisms to assess this discipline. The first is co-investments, which allow the firm to observe a manager's deal selection and execution directly alongside the underlying investment. The second is advisory board seats, which give Churchill governance visibility into how managers handle portfolio issues and strategic decisions. The third is annual re-underwriting, under which existing commitments are periodically reassessed against the original investment thesis.
The interview positions these tools as a way to separate managers whose returns reflect repeatable capability from those whose performance drifts from their stated mandate. For limited partners and allocators, the piece underscores the importance of ongoing manager monitoring after the initial commitment, rather than relying solely on due diligence at the point of entry. The article is published in the Investors, Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America coverage areas of PEI Private Equity, with co-investments and limited partner allocations as its central themes.
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