Interview with Shanu Sherwani, Chief Investment Officer at Kneip Management — Alternative & Private Equity Forum
At the Alternative & Private Equity Forum 2025, held in Luxembourg, we sat down with Shanu Sherwani, Chief Investment Officer at Kneip Management, for a candid discussion on asset allocation in today’s private markets. Against the backdrop of a persistent liquidity squeeze and structurally longer exit cycles, he shares how leading family offices are rethinking portfolio construction—moving away from static frameworks toward a far more dynamic, hands-on approach.
From Luxembourg, one of Europe’s key hubs for private assets, Shanu Sherwani offers a clear-eyed view: modern wealth management is no longer about choosing between long-term performance and liquidity discipline. It is about mastering both.
Navigating liquidity in a constrained market
Private equity is currently operating in an environment of historically low distributions. According to Shanu Sherwani, this reality is forcing family offices to fundamentally rethink their governance rhythms. Annual allocation reviews are no longer sufficient. The most sophisticated players now operate on a quarterly—or even monthly—basis, actively monitoring liquidity profiles and rebalancing exposures as exit timelines extend.
This shift toward continuous oversight has become critical to maintaining equilibrium between liquid reserves and long-term illiquid commitments.
Where value is created: secondaries as a strategic tool
Despite short-term constraints, private markets remain central to value creation. As Shanu Sherwani underlines, the bulk of real economic value continues to be generated off public markets. To access this alpha more efficiently, family offices are increasingly turning to secondary and tertiary transactions.
These instruments allow investors to preserve a target allocatio, often around 27%, while introducing greater flexibility and selectivity, particularly across strategies such as infrastructure and private debt.
A new Family Office Playbook
Looking ahead, Shanu Sherwani points to a decisive transformation underway: the rapid professionalisation of family offices. Rigid allocation models are giving way to in-house analytical capabilities and direct market engagement. By combining patient capital with opportunistic secondary transactions, family offices are redefining their role in private markets—gaining the ability to pivot swiftly based on manager performance and evolving market conditions.
A model increasingly aligned with the sophistication and global reach of the Luxembourg ecosystem.
Read the full interview to explore Kneip Management’s investment philosophy and how leading family offices are adapting their liquidity strategies in private markets.