(Bloomberg) — Aetna Inc.'s private equity team has formed a new investment company that will seek to manage money for outside investors as well as the executives' former employer.
Nebrodi Partners will continue to manage Aetna's private equity holdings, currently valued at about $600 million, Robert Davis, one of four principals at the firm, said in an interview. It will also serve as an adviser for institutions that want to outsource their private equity investing rather than set up an internal team.
Aetna, the third-largest U.S. health insurer, has been investing in private equity since 1992, said Davis. The group, which includes principals David Clarke, Allan Vartelas and Erik Cafarella, acquires stakes in buyout funds and also co-invests alongside them in private companies.
"We think the co-investing side is very important," Davis said yesterday. "You gain very valuable insight into the general partners because you are working with them side by side," said Davis, referring to the managers of the buyout funds.
