# LightBay Capital

LightBay Capital is a Private Equity based in Los Angeles, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** Los Angeles, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Los Angeles, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2020
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** www.lightbay.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightbay-capital

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 288432
- **SEC file number:** 801-111785
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/288432

## About

LightBay Capital is an SEC-registered investment adviser in Los Angeles, CA, registered since 2017. The firm manages approximately $1.8 billion in regulatory assets. It has 29 employees and 24 investment advisers.

## Sectors

- Healthcare Services
- Business Services
- Consumer & Retail

## People

- Adam Stein — Co-Founder & Managing Partner
- Nav Rahemtulla — Co-Founder & Managing Partner

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at LightBay Capital?

Investment decisions are made jointly by Co-Founders and Managing Partners Adam Stein and Nav Rahemtulla. Both partners previously worked together in the private equity group at Ares Management, where they executed control and growth investments across services sectors. The dual-managing-partner structure means no single individual holds exclusive investment-committee veto power, a governance design tailored for a first-time fund. Day-to-day oversight of portfolio companies is shared, with both partners sitting on each portfolio company board.

### How does LightBay Capital source proprietary deal flow?

LightBay leverages the institutional sourcing playbook its founders developed at Ares Management, emphasizing intermediary relationships, thematic sector mapping, and direct founder outreach rather than auction-heavy processes. The firm targets lower-middle-market services companies that fall below the minimum equity check size of mega-fund platforms. Its Los Angeles location gives it proximity to a concentrated pool of healthcare and business services founders across the Western US. The firm also draws on operating advisors with deep sector-specific networks to surface off-market opportunities.

### What investment stages does LightBay Capital typically target?

LightBay targets both full buyout situations and selective expansion-stage growth investments. The firm does not invest in seed, early-stage venture, or public equities. Its focus is on founder-owned and family-owned businesses generating several million dollars of EBITDA, where it can deploy control-oriented capital to professionalize operations, scale geographically, or execute add-on acquisitions.

### Which sectors does LightBay explicitly avoid?

LightBay does not invest in technology startups, real estate, energy, infrastructure, or financial services. Its mandate is concentrated on three verticals: healthcare services, business services, and consumer. Within healthcare, it avoids biotech, pharma, and devices with binary regulatory outcomes. In consumer, it stays away from fashion and high-trend discretionary categories. The common thread is services-based recurring revenue models in non-cyclical end markets.

### How is LightBay Capital related to Ares Management?

LightBay has no formal or structural affiliation with Ares Management. The connection is limited to the professional pedigrees of its co-founders, Adam Stein and Nav Rahemtulla, who both served as partners in Ares' private equity group prior to 2020. LightBay is independently owned and operated, and Ares holds no economic interest in the firm or its management company. The spinout was amicable and publicly acknowledged at the time of LightBay's launch.

## Related profiles

- [Lightbank](https://altss.com/profile/lightbank)
- [Light Beam Capital](https://altss.com/profile/light-beam-capital)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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