Adams Street Partners
Adams Street Partners is a 100% employee-owned global private markets investment manager founded in 1972, managing $69.9bn+ across primaries, secondaries, co-investments, growth equity, and private credit for 770+ institutional and wealth clients worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1972
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Adams Street Partners does
Adams Street Partners is a 100% employee-owned global private markets investment management firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in Chicago, with 15 offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific and approximately $69.9 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025 (exceeding $70 billion following subsequent fund closings). The firm manages capital on behalf of 770+ institutional investors including corporate and public pensions, foundations, family offices, and endowments, and operates five core investment strategies — Primary Investments (fund-of-funds), Secondary Investments, Co-Investments, Growth Equity, and Private Credit — alongside Custom Solutions and Insurance Solutions for institutional clients, and Evergreen Solutions (the ASPEN Program and ASPEN Lux) and Private Wealth Solutions for the wealth channel. The firm's proprietary multi-currency research and analytics platform tracks 35,800+ companies globally to support investment diligence, portfolio monitoring, and ESG integration across all strategies.
Adams Street Partners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Adams Street Partners
- Legal name
- Adams Street Partners, LLC
- Website
- https://www.adamsstreetpartners.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1972
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Adams Street Partners is a 100% employee-owned global private markets investment manager founded in 1972, managing $69.9bn+ across primaries, secondaries, co-investments, growth equity, and private credit for 770+ institutional and wealth clients worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Adams Street Partners industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Markets Investment Management
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Open-End Investment Funds (52591)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Independent Broker-Dealers (Retail Network) (FSAAAAAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Evergreen / Open-Ended Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAM), Family Office Investment Platforms & Direct Investing (PE/VC/Co-Invest) (FSAAADAH), Private Placement Agents (Reg D/144A) (FSAEALAA), Secondary Fund Stakes (GP/Manager Stakes in Secondary GPs) (FSANAFAD)
Keywords
Where Adams Street Partners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices15 records
Markets served
Adams Street Partners business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Management Fees: Recurring asset-based management fees charged on assets under management across all five core strategies (Primary, Secondary, Co-Investment, Growth Equity, Private Credit) plus customized mandates, evergreen vehicles (ASPEN, ASPEN Lux), and CLO vehicles. Firmwide AUM was $69.9 billion as of December 31, 2025, in excess of $70 billion following more recent fund closings.
- Carried Interest and Performance Fees: Performance-based incentive compensation earned on fund returns across flagship private equity, private credit, growth equity, and co-investment vehicles.
- Private Credit Origination and Arrangement Fees: Transaction-based fees from private credit lending including first lien, unitranche, second lien, mezzanine, and preferred equity financings to PE-backed middle-market companies, with the firm's Private Credit team having invested more than $15 billion across various cycles.
- CLO Management and Structuring Fees: Management and structuring fees from $350 million inaugural public middle market collateralized loan obligation (ASP PIF CLO I), expanding into public structured credit.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | ASPEN Lux minimum subscription |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Institutional funds and separate accounts |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Adams Street Partners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Adams Street Partners is a global private markets investment management firm that manages five core investment strategies — Primary, Secondary, Co-Investment, Growth Equity, and Private Credit — through fund vehicles, separate accounts, and customized mandates for institutional investors, insurance companies, and wealth platforms. The firm also operates registered evergreen vehicles (ASPEN Program and ASPEN Lux) and a Private Wealth Solutions platform providing individual investors and financial advisors access to institutional-quality private equity portfolios.
Product overview
Adams Street Partners operates a global private markets investment platform composed of multiple complementary strategies and solutions rather than a single unified software product. The platform integrates five dedicated investment strategies — Co-Investments, Growth Equity, Primary Investments, Private Credit, and Secondary Investments — with Custom Solutions and Insurance Solutions for institutional clients. For individual investors and wealth advisors, the firm offers Evergreen Solutions and the ASPEN Program (perpetual evergreen vehicles) and Private Wealth Solutions. The Growth Capital Solutions offering supports entrepreneurs and CEOs. All strategies are delivered through an integrated global network of 15 offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, supported by the firm's proprietary Foresight research and analytics platform.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ASPEN Program: Investment program offering fund products that provide investors access to private equity strategies focused on secondary and co-investment opportunities; includes the registered ASPEN evergreen fund.
- ASPEN Lux
Products and services
- Primary Investments
- Secondary Investments
- Co-Investments
- Growth Equity
- Private Credit
- Custom Solutions
- Insurance Solutions
- Evergreen Solutions
- ASPEN Program
- ASPEN Lux
- ASP PIF CLO I
- Private Wealth Solutions
Quantifiable outcome
- $69.9bn AUM as of December 31, 2025; in excess of $70bn following recent fund closings
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Adams Street Partners
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Adams Street Partners technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature6 records
Adams Street Partners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- TitanbayflagshipAdams Street Partners and Titanbay formed a partnership to deliver private market investments to private banks, wealth managers, and qualified investors across Europe. Titanbay provides its cross-border digital platform for onboarding, compliance, distributor management, and reporting, while Adams Street contributes its institutional investment strategies including the ASPEN Lux evergreen fund. The partnership enables Adams Street to operate within the private wealth channel aligned with institutional standards.
Scale indicators18 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Adams Street Partners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hamilton Lane: Hamilton Lane is a private markets investment management firm offering primary fund, secondary, co-investment, and direct credit solutions to institutional and wealth clients, with comparable AUM scale and similar multi-strategy positioning.
- StepStone Group: StepStone Group provides private markets investment solutions including primaries, secondaries, co-investments, and private credit, and is a direct co-lender to Adams Street on deals such as the Greenwood Industries financing.
- Pantheon Ventures: Pantheon is a private markets fund-of-funds and co-investment manager covering primaries, secondaries, co-investments, and infrastructure, with a similar institutional LP focus and decades-long track record.
- Grosvenor Capital Management: Grosvenor is a multi-strategy private markets manager offering primaries, secondaries, co-investments, and customized mandates to institutional and wealth clients, overlapping substantially with Adams Street's Custom Solutions and fund-of-funds offerings.
- LGT Capital Partners: LGT Capital Partners is a Swiss-headquartered private markets investment manager with primary, secondary, co-investment, and private credit strategies, comparable in size and European institutional focus to Adams Street.
- HarbourVest Partners: HarbourVest is a global private markets investment manager with primary, secondary, and co-investment offerings, overlapping with Adams Street's core fund-of-funds and secondaries strategies and serving a similar institutional LP base.
- Partners Group: Partners Group is a global private markets investment manager with primary, secondary, direct equity, private credit, and customized mandate strategies, and is a close comparable in multi-strategy breadth and institutional/wealth distribution model.
Broad incumbents
- Neuberger Berman: Neuberger Berman operates a large alternatives platform spanning private equity, private credit, and customized mandates, and is a co-investor alongside Adams Street in vehicles such as Motilal Oswal's IBEF V fund.
- Blackstone (Private Wealth / BCRED): Blackstone is the largest private markets manager globally with extensive wealth-channel evergreen products (e.g., BCRED); it is a competitor for the same institutional and wealth LP wallet that Adams Street targets, though at materially greater AUM scale.
- KKR (Private Markets): KKR operates a broad private markets platform across buyout, growth, credit, and real assets with dedicated wealth products, and competes for the same institutional LPs and wealth-advisor relationships Adams Street is targeting via ASPEN.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Adams Street Partners social profiles
Digital presenceAdams Street Partners compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance12 records
Adams Street Partners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Adams Street Partners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles34 records
Adams Street Partners subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries9 records
Adams Street Partners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Adams Street Partners M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments265 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Adams Street Partners
What does Adams Street Partners do?
Adams Street Partners is a global private markets investment management firm that manages five core investment strategies — Primary, Secondary, Co-Investment, Growth Equity, and Private Credit — through fund vehicles, separate accounts, and customized mandates for institutional investors, insurance companies, and wealth platforms. The firm also operates registered evergreen vehicles (ASPEN Program and ASPEN Lux) and a Private Wealth Solutions platform providing individual investors and financial advisors access to institutional-quality private equity portfolios.
Is Adams Street Partners a public or private company?
Adams Street Partners is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Adams Street Partners founded?
Adams Street Partners was founded in 1972. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Adams Street Partners based?
Adams Street Partners is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Adams Street Partners make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Management Fees are the primary driver. The others are carried Interest and Performance Fees, private Credit Origination and Arrangement Fees and CLO Management and Structuring Fees.
Who are Adams Street Partners's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hamilton Lane, StepStone Group, Pantheon Ventures, Grosvenor Capital Management, LGT Capital Partners, HarbourVest Partners and Partners Group. Broad incumbents are Neuberger Berman, Blackstone (Private Wealth / BCRED) and KKR (Private Markets).
Does Adams Street Partners have an API?
No public API is recorded for Adams Street Partners.
What industry is Adams Street Partners in?
Adams Street Partners's product category is Private Markets Investment Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAAAAAC, Independent Broker-Dealers (Retail Network), with a secondary code of FSANAGAM, Evergreen / Open-Ended Multi-Manager Platforms. Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.