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Nebrodi Partners
Nebrodi Partners launched in 2014 when three managing directors from Aetna Inc.'s private equity group — Allan Vartelas, Bob Davis, and Erik Cafarella — spun...
Nebrodi Partners
Nebrodi Partners launched in 2014 when three managing directors from Aetna Inc.'s private equity group — Allan Vartelas, Bob Davis, and Erik Cafarella — spun out the institutional LP expertise they had built since 1992. The firm is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, and operates as a specialist manager for investors seeking exposure to the middle and lower middle market private equity segment. Rather than building a generalist advisory platform, Nebrodi focused the entire firm on fund commitments and select co-investments in two defined geographies: North America and Europe. The firm's strategy centers on primary fund commitments to middle-market and lower middle-market buyout, growth, and venture managers, complemented by direct co-investments alongside those general partners. Asset-class exposure spans buyout funds, growth equity vehicles, and venture capital partnerships. The co-investment program selects individual company stakes from the deal flow of its underlying fund managers. Nebrodi's investment activities are rooted in the LP-selection discipline the founders developed at Aetna, where they oversaw a multi-billion-dollar private equity portfolio through multiple cycles. Nebrodi fields a tight team; the three founders are supported by Managing Director and CCO Jim Gagnon, a former PwC assurance senior manager and Vatera Group controller, and Principal Vince Love, who joined in 2019 after investment banking stints at Citi and Citizens Bank. No additional offices or philanthropic vehicles are disclosed. There is no public record of a club-deal structure, affiliated operating companies, or membership networks, suggesting the firm remains a concentrated manager of LP capital rather than a broader multi-family office or co-investor club. The firm's structural differentiator is its origins inside one of the longest-standing institutional LP programs in the United States. The founders did not step out of a GP or investment-banking pipeline to start an advisory firm — they spent their prior careers allocating Aetna's balance sheet to private equity, giving Nebrodi a sourcing posture that mirrors an in-house pension or insurance LP rather than a placement agent or fund-of-funds aggregator.
General information
Firm type
Generalist
Year founded
2014
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Hartford
Corporate office
225 Asylum Street, 28th Floor, Hartford, CT 06103, United States
Principals
Allan Vartelas
Co-founder and Managing Partner
Bob Davis
Co-founder and Managing Partner
Erik Cafarella
Co-founder and Managing Partner
Jim Gagnon
Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer
Vince Love
Principal
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Nebrodi Partners?
The three co-founders — Allan Vartelas, Bob Davis, and Erik Cafarella — serve as Managing Partners and collectively lead investment decisions. They oversaw Aetna's private equity program from its 1992 inception until their departure in 2014, carrying institutional LP discipline into the firm's fund-selection and co-investment processes.
How is Nebrodi Partners structured — is it a fund-of-funds or does it offer direct co-investment?
Nebrodi operates as a specialist manager focused on primary fund commitments to middle and lower middle market private equity funds, alongside a select co-investment program. The co-investment sleeve is sourced through the general partners in which Nebrodi has already committed capital, giving clients direct equity exposure to individual portfolio companies.
What is Nebrodi's geographic focus?
The firm concentrates its private equity fund investing and co-investments exclusively in North America and Europe. This bilateral focus reflects the founders' sourcing networks and the manager universe they accessed while building Aetna's private equity allocation over two decades.
What investment stages and strategies does Nebrodi target?
Nebrodi targets the middle and lower middle market, spanning buyout, growth equity, and venture capital strategies. The firm does not publicly emphasize late-stage, large-cap buyouts, or direct credit, staying within the market segment where manager selection drives a wider dispersion of returns.
What is Nebrodi's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
Nebrodi participates in co-investments selectively, using the deal flow of its underlying fund managers. The firm structures these as direct equity stakes rather than pooled vehicles, passing the capital clients commit into specific company-level opportunities alongside the lead GP.
Does Nebrodi Partners disclose its assets under management?
No. Nebrodi has not published a public AUM figure, and its ADV disclosures are not linked on its website. The firm's scale remains opaque; the team size of seven professionals suggests a concentrated capital base rather than a mass-distributed retail or broad institutional platform.
Who are Nebrodi Partners' clients?
Per its Altss research record, Nebrodi provides investment advisory services to individuals, trusts, investment companies, and pension plans. The firm's LP heritage at Aetna suggests a comfort with insurance-company and pension-style mandates, though current client identities are not publicly broken out.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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