A Q&A on Private Markets with Investment Partner Kaimon Chung | Tema

Investment Partner Kaimon Chung has nearly two decades of experience in the alternatives space, including time at Oppenheimer & Co., Nomura Securities, and Evercore. We asked him a few questions about the intersection of alts and private markets.

What's one misconception advisors have about private markets today?

That it's still just for institutions. The infrastructure has evolved—liquidity, minimums, transparency—to the point where private markets can be a realistic allocation for a broader range of clients. The bigger risk now may be not having exposure.

What role should private markets play in a typical client portfolio?

The goal isn't to replace public markets—it's to complement them. Private assets can offer differentiated return streams, lower correlation, and access to strategies that aren't available in public markets. The key is right-sizing based on the client's liquidity needs and time horizon.

What are the biggest risks advisors should be aware of?

The most obvious is illiquidity—many leading private funds have lockups of 10 years or more. But I'd also point to manager selection. In public markets, the difference between a good manager and a mediocre one might be 100 or 200 basis points. In private markets, the dispersion between top-quartile and bottom-quartile managers can be 1,000 basis points or more. Due diligence matters enormously. You're not just picking an asset class; you're picking a partner.

How can advisors actually access private markets for their clients?

There are more options than ever—interval funds, tender-offer funds, and other semi-liquid structures have opened doors that used to be closed. But they come with tradeoffs: limited redemption windows, higher minimums, less transparency, and operational complexity that can be a headache for advisors managing across multiple clients. 

For those who want exposure to the private markets opportunity without those frictions, we'd point to the Tema Alternative Asset Managers ETF (AAUM). Instead of investing as a limited partner in private funds, you're investing alongside the general partners—the asset managers themselves. You get daily liquidity, full transparency, and exposure to the secular growth in alternatives through franchises spanning private equity, private credit, infrastructure, venture capital, and real estate. It's a different angle on the same theme, but in a wrapper advisors already know—at a lower, more transparent fee than private market exposure has historically been available.

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