Former Summit executive launches longer-hold-focused firm

Thomas Roberts, a former senior executive at Summit Partners, says a long-term investment strategy is a way to counter the gradually falling returns endemic to private equity in recent years.

Roberts has just launched Equality Asset Management, which will raise a fund that will hold investments longer than traditional private equity.

Roberts declined to discuss the fund other than to say that he expects to launch it later this year and that it will have lower fees than typical PE.

“Our thesis is that the path to outperformance, given all the competition to buy quality assets, is to make [fewer higher conviction bets], hold those companies longer so you can do more with them after you purchase the company, and charge lower fees along the way,” Roberts said.

Equality Asset Management will focus investments on technology, healthcare and tech-enabled growth companies. It will provide $100 million to $300 million of capital per investment for growth equity and buyouts, according to Equality’s website.

While longer-term holds are usually associated with energy and power investments, Roberts said durable technology and healthcare companies can also benefit from longer-term owners.

“Tech-enabled business services, healthcare services, many of these are not flash-in-the-pan businesses,” Roberts said.

Equality is still in its formative stage and has not yet started investing.

Roberts has a few other executives working with him, including Co-Founder Tara Ciongoli, who previously was a summer associate at Lone Pine Capital and VentureHouse Group, and worked at McKinsey & Co. earlier in her career.

Gabriel Gomez is listed as a co-founder of Equality. He was previously an entrepreneur and a platoon commander at Seal Team Four and an aircraft carrier pilot in the U.S. Navy.

Roberts worked at Summit since 1989 and served as a director of more than 30 companies. In 2010, he co-founded Summit Partners Credit Advisors, according to Summit’s website.

Prior to Summit, Roberts was an analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton.

Update: This report was updated to indicate that Tara Ciongoli was a summer associate at Lone Pine Capital and VentureHouse Group earlier in her career.

Action Item: Check out Equality’s website: http://www.equalityassetmanagement.com/