Guest: Ed Stubbings, Founder, British Emerging Manager Institute (BEMI)
Host: Alice Murray, Editor, THE LINE_
Recorded at: British Emerging Manager Institute Summit 2025
Key highlights & discussion points
A movement gaining momentum
- The Institute officially launched in July 2024 and has rapidly gained recognition:
“Not even a year old, but people know the brand and know what we stand for.”
- Ed described the Summit as a bit like hosting a house party: “You’re not sure anyone will turn up, but they did!”
The goal: Practical support for the full journey
- The event was designed to walk attendees through the entire lifecycle of setting up and running a private equity firm; from legal structures to capital raising, and beyond.
- Sessions were short and high-level, with the aim of encouraging further learning and engagement through BEMI’s broader resource hub:
“Not all sessions are relevant to everyone, but they give a sense of the path ahead.”
Mission more than complete
- One of Ed’s original goals when creating BEMI was to support the creation of 30 new private equity firms by the end of the decade.
- Judging by the 200-strong crowd at the Summit and rapid momentum, that goal may be reached well ahead of schedule.
A central hub, as and when you need it
- BEMI is intended to be a community for a point in time; a support system for when managers are just getting started:
“People won’t be emerging managers forever. But for the time they are we want to be the place they turn to.”
Ed’s radical vision: Making himself redundant
- Perhaps most revealing is Ed’s hope that one day the platform becomes so robust that his own role as a capital raiser is no longer needed:
“If all of the advice I give in a week is available via the Institute, and the LP connectivity is facilitated through technology, then I’ve done my job.”
Takeaway message
The British Emerging Manager Institute is more than just a resource library or events platform. it’s a movement designed to democratise access to private capital, accelerate the growth of new fund managers, and foster a more inclusive and supportive private equity ecosystem.
As Ed puts it:
“As long as everything I do helps an emerging manager get closer to raising capital, it’s a worthwhile exercise.”