Co-Investment, Relationships and the Evolving Family Office: A Conversation with Christine van der Mescht of RisCura
Christine van der Mescht, Strategic Relationship Manager, RisCura
Episode 7 of the AYU Family Office Podcast
As family offices grow in sophistication and scale, their approach to investing is evolving rapidly particularly when it comes to co-investments and direct deal participation. In Episode 7 of the AYU Family Office Podcast, Gus Morison speaks with Christine van der Mescht, Strategic Relationship Manager at RisCura, about how family offices are approaching co-investments, why relationships sit at the foundation of everything, and how the global investment landscape is shifting for private capital.
What Is RisCura and Who Does It Serve?
RisCura is an independent global investment consulting firm with over $250 billion under advisory and management. Founded in South Africa, the firm now operates across offices in London, Mauritius, Hong Kong, and the United States, advising a broad institutional client base that spans pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and increasingly family offices.
RisCura's strength lies in its deep expertise in alternative investments and private markets, combined with a rigorous analytical approach to portfolio construction across both developed and emerging markets. For family offices seeking exposure to Africa and other high-growth emerging markets, RisCura brings a level of insight and local knowledge that few global advisors can match.
The Rise of Co-Investment Among Family Offices
Co-investment has become one of the defining trends in family office investing over the past decade. Rather than allocating solely through fund structures, family offices are increasingly participating directly alongside GPs in individual deals — gaining greater control over their portfolios, reducing fee drag, and building more concentrated, conviction-driven positions.
Christine brings a front-row view of how this trend is playing out across the institutional landscape. The appeal is consistent: co-investment allows families to express their investment thesis more directly, align with specific managers or sectors they know well, and access deal flow that would otherwise be unavailable outside of a traditional fund commitment.
Why Relationships Are the Foundation of Everything
Christine's central point is one that experienced family office professionals will recognise immediately: beyond the financial analysis, beyond the due diligence frameworks, beyond the term sheets the quality of the relationship is what determines whether a co-investment opportunity reaches your desk at all.
"Building deep, trusted relationships" is not a soft afterthought in family office investing it is the primary infrastructure through which capital is deployed. The best deals circulate within trusted networks. GPs bring their best co-investment opportunities to LPs they know well and trust. Family offices that have invested in their relationships over time find themselves with access that others simply don't have.
For family offices early in building their private markets presence, this is the most practical starting point: investing in relationships before you need them.
The Evolving Landscape for Family Office Investments
The investment environment facing family offices today is more complex and more competitive than at any point in the sector's recent history. Christine's perspective from RisCura spanning both institutional and private capital gives her a wide-angle view of the structural forces at work.
Private markets have grown dramatically in scale and breadth. The opportunity set for family offices willing to develop the expertise and relationships extends well beyond traditional private equity into private credit, real assets, infrastructure, and venture across geographies that many families have yet to explore seriously.
What Sophisticated Family Offices Are Doing Differently
The gap between the most sophisticated family offices and those still finding their feet in private markets is significant. The leaders share several characteristics: they have built genuine internal investment capability, they have long standing relationships with top-tier managers, they are disciplined about portfolio construction and they treat co-investment as a deliberate, strategic activity rather than an opportunistic add-on.
For families looking to raise their game in private markets, Christine's conversation offers a clear north star: invest in the relationships and the expertise first, and the opportunities will follow.
Listen to the Full Episode
Episode 7 of the AYU Family Office Podcast is available now on Spotify and all major podcast platforms.
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