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 Leveraged Finance Credit Risk, NatWest Group

Nicolo Lussana, CFA, is a Director in Leveraged Finance Credit Risk at NatWest Group, where he provides senior independent oversight of sponsor backed leveraged finance transactions and private markets related credit exposures. He holds significant delegated underwriting authority for material credit decisions, with responsibility for complex approvals, portfolio oversight and regulated accountability under the UK SMCR framework.

Nicolo has around 20 years of experience across banking, markets and risk. He began his career in front office research and institutional markets roles covering credit, rates and financing products, before moving into senior risk positions spanning financial institutions, fund financing and structured transactions. He was previously Head of Credit Risk for NatWest Bank Europe, where he helped develop governance and frameworks for activity across leveraged finance, infrastructure and project finance.

He serves on the CFA UK Ethics and Professionalism Steering Committee and is a member of the UK Endorsement Board’s Investor Advisory Group, providing investor perspectives on IFRS standard setting and reporting reform. Nicolo is a CFA charterholder and holds an MSc in Finance from Bocconi University.

Alberto Gallo, CIO and Co founder, Andromeda Capital Management

Alberto Gallo is Chief Investment Officer and Co-founder at Andromeda Capital Management.

Prior to that, Alberto initiated and ran the Global Credit Opportunities fund at Algebris Investments (2016-2022). Previously he ran macro credit research at RBS in London (2011-2016), and served in senior research roles at Goldman Sachs in New York (2008-2011), Bear Stearns in New York and London (2007-2008) and Merrill Lynch in London (2004-2007).

Alberto is a CFA charterholder. He earned an MSc in economics two years ahead of the norm, cum laude, from Bocconi University (2004), where he is now a guest professor in macroeconomics, at the SDA Bocconi School of Management. He has served on the ECB working group for financial stability for nearly ten years.