Exploring the Diversity of Private Equity with Dominik at Ardian Zurich

SENIOR INVESTMENT MANAGER

Dominik Lagenegger

The Secondaries & Primaries Team

Ardian is a global player in Secondaries & Primaries (also known as Fund of Funds). Secondaries involve buying and selling existing shares, while Primaries refer to initial investments in other funds. The daily business of this team entails working on secondary and primary opportunities by assessing individual portfolio companies, as well as maintaining close relationships to various mandate clients in Switzerland, for which it deploys primary capital across various private market asset classes.

Why this job ?

Working in his team provides Dominik with a comprehensive overview of the entire private equity landscape. He has the opportunity to collaborate with various stakeholders and work on numerous strategies. Additionally, his team handles both Secondaries and Primaries deals, which allows them to connect with primary market partners while engaging in project-focused work through secondaries. Dominik finds this diversity of tasks and experiences particularly engaging.

An exciting project?

Most recently, Dominik was part of the deal team that worked on a transaction to acquire a $2.1 billion portfolio of limited partnership interests in 20 private equity funds from a large North American pension fund. Additionally, the team was currently competing for a large mandate in Switzerland. Both tasks perfectly highlight the variety of projects Ardian in Zurich has to offer, which Dominik finds both stimulating and challenging.

Skills and qualities needed

In order to work in Secondaries & Primaries, a strong intrinsic motivation and genuine interest in the field are essential, alongside a proactive approach to learning and applying new knowledge on the job. In addition, given the amount of work involving a lot of data from various sources, it is important to work diligently and precisely.

Secondaries & Primaries