UNC Kenan-Flagler Private Equity Fund

MBA students enrolled in the fund's associated course sequence serve as the investment team, sourcing deals, conducting due diligence, and presenting recommendations to a student-staffed investment committee. Faculty advisors and external mentors provide oversight, but the students hold genuine decision-making authority within the fund's mandate (per the fund's public operating structure). This hands-on governance model is rare among university-affiliated investment funds.

The fund leverages several channels: relationships with general partners who offer co-investment opportunities alongside their main funds, direct outreach to companies and intermediaries, and a network of Kenan-Flagler alumni working in private equity who surface deal flow. The combination of GP relationships and alumni access creates a sourcing model that compensates for the fund's relatively small check size.

No. The KFPE Fund is structured as an evergreen vehicle — it does not have a fixed fund life or a terminal liquidation date. New capital commitments and investment realizations recycle into the portfolio continuously. This structure accommodates the academic calendar, allowing new student cohorts to enter and exit management roles without triggering fund-level liquidity events.

Both. The fund makes commitments to primary fund investments managed by outside GPs and participates in direct co-investments alongside those GPs. In some cases it may also pursue independent direct deals, though the co-investment path is more common given the fund's scale and educational objectives.

The fund operates a staggered leadership transition model. Second-year MBA students who have been with the fund for multiple semesters serve in senior roles and train incoming first-year students before graduating. This overlap ensures institutional knowledge transfers and investment monitoring remains continuous across cohort transitions.