The event brought together more than 200 investors for a very special day, marked by the milestones achieved after completing our first year as members of Ridgepost Capital (NYSE: RPC). These twelve months have been especially significant for Qualitas Funds thanks to the completion of our integration and the launch of four funds, including two new investment strategies.
The macroeconomic and geopolitical context, the disruption caused by AI and the new interest-rate environment have brought about a paradigm shift in private equity value creation. Buying well and using leverage is no longer enough: today, the market is returning to fundamentals and rewarding the ability to grow companies. The conclusion could not be clearer: thanks to the founding philosophy we established 23 years ago, we are prepared to face market fluctuations and seize the opportunities offered by this new environment.
“The new rate environment is impacting private equity value creation. Our investment strategy, with an agile approach specialized in the international lower middle-market, remains the same, and we are convinced that these changes will not affect us negatively,” said our founding partner, Sergio García. “Debt is now much more expensive—the cost of financing has increased by between 50% and 60%—and value creation based on multiple arbitrage and financial engineering is no longer enough. But our core and our philosophy remain intact: a focus on the lower middle-market, agile private equity programs with attractive returns, and optimal diversification, to which we have added greater international reach.”
Along the same lines, Qualitas Funds’ other founding partner, Eric Halverson, referred to the success of the integration into Ridgepost Capital, the leading global platform in the middle and lower middle-market, which is generating synergies and making it possible to offer additional strategies to investors. Halverson emphasized that the firm will “maintain the same market focus, the same rigor in investment selection and the same alignment with investors,” while benefiting from a broader international platform and stronger foundation for growth. He added that the integration will combine local knowledge and specialization in the lower middle-market with a leading global private markets platform, expanding capabilities and strategies for investors.
Partner Javier Alemán reviewed the main milestones achieved. “Over the past twelve months, we have launched four funds, including two new investment strategies. We have commitments of more than €1.2 billion across 13 funds.” He also highlighted the successful closings of Qualitas Funds VI at its €250 million hard cap and Qualitas Continuation Finance I at its €50 million target size; the launch of Qualitas Funds VII and Qualitas Direct III; and the launch of Qualitas Funds US I, the first fund focused on the North American lower mid-market, and Qualitas Secondary Opportunities I, the first secondaries fund.
For the first time as Qualitas Funds’ partners, Bernardo Marqués Dos Santos and Víctor Romero spoke during a Qualitas Funds Investor Day. Marqués Dos Santos focused on the co-investment strategy, which has “a unique platform with privileged access to opportunities.” Its appeal is based on partnerships with top-tier managers, agile capital rotation with rapid deployment, and asset diversification that minimizes risk.
Víctor, for his part, highlighted the growing role of AI, a “cross-cutting ambition that expands and strengthens our ability to analyze and detect opportunities.” Artificial Intelligence has been incorporated at Qualitas Funds to impact every process and every area of the firm. So much so that we have developed “forums with international managers to explain how we are developing this technological integration and, at the same time, sharing best practices.” AI, specialization and market intelligence will increasingly make the difference, he added.
Emma Hernanz, Head of Investor Relations at Qualitas Funds, then broke down the performance of all funds and their agility. “We have the investment programs that fastest deploy capital in the market.” Hernanz also emphasized the “discipline applied to all processes,” which guides every investment program. João Pita Rua, Investment Director, then delved into one of Qualitas Funds’ most recent strategies: NAV financing, whose first fund was recently closed. “By the summer, we will have 75% of the fund’s capital invested, so we are moving quite quickly,” he explained.
Finally, Lucía Carrasco, CFO, discussed the new secondaries strategy, Qualitas Secondary Opportunities I, which will follow a “unique strategy” combining GP-led transactions, LP stakes and late primaries. With our sights already set on our Investor Day 2027, we continue to work with the same commitment and philosophy that guided us from the beginning: investing in leading companies in their sectors, profitable businesses capable of creating sustainable long-term value in the lower middle-market segment.