Why Family Offices Are Choo... | Lippes Mathias LLP

Why Family Offices Are Choosing Independent Sponsor Deals Over Committed Funds

April 19, 2026 | Corporate Blog

9 thoughtful independent sponsor comments:

CORE: the independent sponsor world is a unique pocket of the lower middle market (LMM), in which capital is raised on a deal-by-deal basis.
SIZE: Market for isponsor / direct deals has grown substantially (53.8% annual growth per Houlihan Lokey), and it is starting to become a more competitive space. The key to success is differentiation.
CAPITAL: There is more and more capital flowing to isponsors (SBICs, FOs, HNWs / UHNWs, PE).
ATTRACTION: A lot of LPs, particularly family offices, are frustrated with aspects of the committed model (ie, blind investments locked for a decade plus, higher fees, lack of alignment toward the end of the commitment period, etc.).
NIMBLE: Impractical for many middle-market PE funds to invest in LMM due to minimum equity checks.
ENTREPRENUERIAL: A number of very talented PE professionals are leaving PE shops to launch their own independent sponsor firms — particularly those with an entrepreneurial mindset.
RETURNS: LMM deals offer better value arbitrage. Ability to professionalize. More low-hanging fruit to drive value.
TRANSPARENCY: With an isponsor deal, investors are able to fully underwrite the specific business being acquired (key advantage over blind pool).
EDGE: “One of the big advantages to working with an independent sponsor is that we [the capital partner] can invest in really interesting, high-quality companies — and we get to leverage that independent sponsor’s skill set and bandwidth and manpower.”

John J. Koeppel's commentary on "Independent Sponsor Deals on the Rise," The Family Office Professional, by Margaret Steen, April 13, 2026.

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Related Team

John J. Koeppel
Partner | Executive Committee | Team Leader - Private Equity | Team Leader - Independent Sponsor