In our latest Quick Fire, We chat with Investor Relations Director, Chris Mockford, about why he joined ECI, what’s front of mind for LPs in the current market, and his preferred outlet for his competitiveness.
Q: Have your first three months at ECI been as you expected?
Happily, yes! Exactly as I expected. We’ve closed four new investments in the time I’ve been here, which has meant seeing the ECI investment machine in action. We’re also partnering with LP co-investors on two of these transactions, continuing ECI’s track record of offering substantial co-invest to its fund investors, which has become so important these days.
We also had our LPAC meeting shortly after I joined and we have the AGM coming up in Q1 next year. So, there’s been plenty to get stuck into right from the get-go.
In terms of ECI as a business, I had high expectations coming in. Not only from my interactions with team members during the hiring process and ECI’s overall reputation, but also as I knew my predecessor before joining, so got some appropriate DD in nice and early… Now that I’ve landed, everything’s been exactly in line with what I had expected. There are unique approaches to firm and fund management here, which I think are part of the reason ECI’s been around for nigh-on 50 years and are one of the main reasons I was so excited to join.
Q: What made you want to join ECI?
I knew quite a bit about ECI and the role specifically, before joining. I’d previously been on the placement agent side, first at US investment bank Evercore and then co-founding a boutique placement agent with two other partners, before making the move in-house with a pan-European special situations fund. I knew I wanted to stay in-house and was looking for a firm with a great reputation and a clear understanding that private equity is a long-term game – somewhere I could join and, all being well, stay for the rest of my career. ECI was in that sweet spot, having a fantastic long-term track record, and an approach to firm management that can last another 50+ years, but also great people that work in the same way I do.
Q: How did you get started in the world of placement?
I originally planned to go into equity research but left university in 2011 with the Eurozone crisis in full swing, so those dreams went rapidly south. I decided to focus on smaller companies instead, looking for a role where I could work directly with senior people and hopefully learn a lot. In the end, I took a job with a start-up mining company after sending a letter to their recently-hired CFO, asking if he needed some help… A complete shot-to-nothing but I was hired and did indeed learn a huge amount.
Unfortunately, one of the things I learned is that it’s really hard to build a mine. So before long I left to join Evercore, a much more established firm and in the world of finance, where I knew I wanted to be. I loved the people and it was great working with driven, excited individuals who were passionate about what they were doing. It offered what I’d wanted from equity research in the first place – a mix of qualitative and quantitative work, with a sales angle – just in a format I hadn’t expected.
Q: What traits do you think you need to succeed in IR?
At its heart, the IR role is about outlining how we make investment decisions, making it clear what’s different about our approach compared to our peers, evidencing how it works with facts and figures and then going out and building relationships with investors who find that story compelling.
It’s so easy to get used to your own way of doing things and forget how it’s different or what makes it special. I love thinking about that and trying to find a clear, concise and engaging way of expressing it – a message that cuts through the noise and hopefully resonates with investors.
Being able to then convey that message when you’re sitting across the table is a very different skill but both are a huge amount of fun, as is the process of fundraising itself, which can be intense and is something I inherently enjoy.
The last thing I’d say is you also have to have patience and an appreciation for building a relationship even if it ultimately doesn’t result in an investment. These things take time. Fundraising is much less transactional than other roles in finance – a conversation towards your next fundraise will likely be measured in years not weeks. And while it’s a fantastic feeling when you do ultimately secure an investment, it also helps to have a good dose of resilience and a positive outlook even if you don’t get the result you were hoping for – after all, a “no” today could be a “yes” in years to come.
Q: What is front of mind for LPs in the current market?
DPI has been a huge focus for LPs over the last couple of years as there’s been so little of it! A lot of GPs raised and deployed very large funds back in 2021/22 but distributions have been scarce. It’s another reason I was excited to join ECI – fund size increases have always been quite disciplined here and the team chose to exit into the buoyant markets of 2021/22, rather than doubling down.
There’s also a growing focus on fund management – GPs that can uncover and invest in great businesses, but then also do the next part, which is properly managing the fund’s risk and choosing how to deploy follow on capital, how to support businesses that face challenges during the investment period, and when to exit. Having clear, established processes and a culture that prioritises the overall performance of the fund, not just each deal, will be increasingly important.
Beyond that, co-invest continues to be key and we’re hearing a lot more LPs say they now look at their GPs’ performance in the round, i.e. a single line item showing the overall net return of that relationship, across fund commitments and any co-invest. We’re also hearing more and more from LPs about team stability and a preference for GPs that recognise private equity is a long term game. So – how do GPs make sure they have the strong cohesion and culture they need, to keep that team in place for years to come.
In that sense ECI have made my job slightly easier, in that they established clear practices around people management and succession many years ago. That means there’s a clear path for promotion available to Associates joining ECI today to ultimately leading firm down the line. That makes it much more attractive to bright, ambitious people who might otherwise leave or spin out if they can’t see that path to senior roles within the firm.
Quick Fire with Chris:
What are you most looking forward to in 2025?
I’ve just bought a road bike so I’m looking forward to getting out for some rides in and around London.
Describe your perfect Sunday
Walk in the countryside, home for a late lunch and an afternoon of board games with my partner. Not a joke… I’m insufferably competitive and get a fix from board games I haven’t found anywhere else.
Who is headlining your dream festival?
Bruce.
Have you ever had 15 minutes of fame?
When I was a kid we were in Rome when the pope died, so we queued for 14 hours to see him lying in state and were interviewed by CNN. A niche claim to fame but there it is…
What film have you watched the most times?
Shawshank Redemption… although Gladiator is a very close second. There’s a group of extras in the first battle scene who are meant to be in a brutal fight for survival but are just chatting and joking with each other. I only saw that on the most recent watch – the film just keeps on giving.
What superpower would you most like to have?
Telekinesis. I would move my partner’s keys into her pocket before she leaves in the morning.
