Wednesday webinar at one: Continuation funds - ethical issues in private markets

What can we learn about ethical issues in private markets from continuation funds?

Continuation funds have become an increasingly prominent feature of private markets, driven by investor demand for liquidity and flexibility. While they can offer pragmatic solutions for fund managers and investors alike, they also raise important ethical questions around conflicts of interest, valuation, governance, and investor protection—particularly as retail participation in private markets grows.

This session will explore how continuation funds operate, what has driven their rapid growth, and what they reveal about wider ethical challenges across private markets. Drawing on the CFA Institute report “Continuation Funds: Ethics in Private Markets, Part I”, the discussion will examine how these structures can be used appropriately and what safeguards are needed to ensure investor interests remain paramount.

This session is designed for members seeking a deeper understanding of evolving private market structures and their ethical implications. Attendees will gain practical insight into:

• What continuation funds are and why they matter
• The ethical risks and challenges they can present, including conflicts of interest, liquidity and valuation concerns
•  What the growth of continuation funds tells us about broader ethical considerations across private markets, especially in the context of increasing retail participation in the UK

Learning objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Understand what continuation funds are, how they are structured, and how they are typically used
2. Explore the market trends underpinning their growth and the types of investors involved
3.  Assess and debate the key ethical issues raised by continuation funds and how these issues translate to private markets more broadly

Speakers 

Nicolo Lussana, CFA, Director Credit Risk & Leveraged Finance, NatWest

Olivier Fines, CFA, Head of Advocacy and Capital Markets Policy Research for EMEA, CFA Institute

Alberto Gallo, CIO and Co founder, Andromeda Capital

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