Iris Capital Partners, an investment firm backed by the heir to a Malaysian fortune, is seeking to raise US$200 million from institutional investors, the latest family wealth vehicle to open up to outside capital.
“The firm is seeking cash for a new private credit and private equity fund,” managing partner Rachel Lau said in an interview.
She’s the daughter of the late Lau Boon Ann, who built a fortune in real estate and was an early investor in Top Glove Corp, the world’s largest manufacturer of rubber gloves.
“Everyone realises after a couple of years that just having families invest is not enough,” Lau said in an interview.
“You need more permanent capital from insurance, pensions, and sovereign funds,” she said.
Founded in 2020, Iris is seeking to launch the private markets fund early next year.
Today, family capital anchors about 25% of the firm’s assets, while the rest comes from third-party institutions.
Anchor investors of Iris include Kim Dong-won, a scion of the family behind South Korea‘s Hanwha Group, and Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Private credit is a pivot for Lau, who had bet on venture capital with her other firm, RHL Ventures, which she co-founded in 2016 alongside younger members of some of Southeast Asia’s most influential families.
The other partners are Raja Hamzah Abidin, son of prominent former Malaysian politician Raja Nong Chik, and Jojo Kong, whose father David Kong founded Nirvana Asia Ltd, one of the largest death-care service providers in Asia.
Lau, who now leads a 15-person team, says institutional partners can be more straightforward to work with than other families.
She declined to disclose Iris’s total assets, or her family wealth.
Lau plans to take majority stakes of 50% to 80% in international companies and help them with their expansion in Southeast Asia.
For example, US and Chinese businesses coming to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Recent deals include an investment in biotech firm Mirxes Holding Co, which listed in Hong Kong in May.
Relative to a family office, “institutional capital is easier because they’re more clear with what they want. It’s all about financial returns; there are no emotions,” said Lau.
Lau has a Master of Law from the University of Sydney, and earlier in her career was vice-president at Heitman Investment Management, where she helped manage US$4 billion of long-only and absolute return equity strategies.
She also represented Malaysia in rhythmic gymnastics.
RHL started with US$50 million from the various families.
In 2020, they began raising third-party capital, attracting sovereign funds, insurance companies, and banks.
Early bets included Singapore-based rewards app Perx, where Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin was an early investor, and Los Angeles-based concert merchandise startup Sidestep, which reportedly counted Beyoncé as a financial backer.
Lau said founding Iris is her push to move away from the volatility of venture capital towards what she termed the clearer rules of private markets.
“Venture in Asia has been rough,” she said.
“For us, it makes more sense to invest in private credit and private equity, and we will slowly pare down the venture exposure,” she added.
