Edition #2: 26 New Funds Launched, Q1 Fund Performance Benchmark, Endowment VC Sales
Hey folks,
This is Pavel and welcome to the 2nd edition (June, 2025) of Murph Capital newsletter.
This is my monthly brain-dump of the most useful stuff I’ve come across as an operator in the GP/LP world.
Follow me on X and LinkedIn for more frequent insights.
5 Best Tweets
“A complete breakdown of VC fund fees and expenses”.
By Pavel Prata from R136 Ventures
“Q1 2025 benchmarks for VC funds on Net IRR, Net TVPI and DPI”.
By Peter Walker from Carta.
“16 standout solo GPs and what they’re backing”.
By Alex Klein from Nucleus Talent
“Why are endowments selling their VC stakes on secondary markets?”
By Meghan Reynolds from Altimeter
“What does risk management in VC mean?”
By Dan Gray from Equidam
5 Best Linkedin Posts
“Do Fund of Funds make sense for LPs in 2025?”
By Pavel Prata from R136 Ventures
“Risk framework for backing emerging VCs”.
By David Zhou from Superclusters and Benjamin Ehrlich from First Momentum Capital
“S&P 500 outperformed private markets funds over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years”.
By Alan Smith from Capital Partners
“Is VC liquidity really back or just another false start?”
By Pavel Prata from R136 Ventures
“We’re having the biggest dispersion of fundraising difficulty”.
By Samir Kaji from Allocate
3 Best Reports / Stories
26 New VC Funds
View all other funds by clicking the button below…
Emerging Managers Interviews
I asked Archie Cochrane, GP at Nascent VC, 10 quick questions about their new $15M Fund II. Their fastest check, best fundraising hacks and biggest mistakes.
15 GP/LP Events
June 30–July 5 – World Venture Forum 2025 (Kitzbühel, Austria)
July 3-4 – Family Office Forum London (London, UK)
July 10 – VC Lab: The Future of VC (Online)
July 14–15 – ALTSCHI 2025 (Chicago)
July 15 – TechCrunch All Stage (Boston)
July 15 – AIMA & Black Hedge Fund Network Rooftop Summer Social (New York)
July 15–16 – ADISA Alts Research & Due Diligence Forum (Philadelphia)
July 16 – Carta: How to Construct Your Fund for Long-Term Success (Online)
July 15–17 – Pension Bridge Private Equity Exclusive (Chicago)
July 17 – VC Lab: Hub AI for VC (Online)
July 21-23 – Family Office & Private Wealth Management Forum (Newport)
July 21–27 – TechChicago Week / Capital Summit (Chicago)
July 24 – VC Lab: Q3 Venture Trends (Online)
3 Best Podcasts
First up, the chat with Samir Kaji from Allocate (Turner Novak’s The Peel Pod). Samir does an awesome job breaking down why private markets are exploding right now, why so many venture funds are having a tough time raising money, and how secondaries and AI are totally changing the game.
Another great listen: Beezer Clarkson from Sapphire Ventures sits down with Peter Walker from Carta. Beezer shares some super practical advice for emerging managers trying to make their mark, talks about why big mega-funds aren’t necessarily crowding out early-stage deals, and gives a peek into how LPs are thinking about secondaries, exits, and even failures these days.
And finally, I really enjoyed the conversation with Jack Altman from Uncapped and Dan Feder, who manages the University of Michigan’s endowment. Dan gets into how endowments juggle risk and spending, why the best venture returns come from leaning into uncertainty, and why it’s so important to back the right people, not just the right firms.
Personal Notes
R136 fellows just got back from SuperReturn Berlin – one of the biggest VC/LP gatherings out there. We came away with 10 sharp takeaways: from AI’s real-world traction to shifting LP dynamics, liquidity worries, and how fund strategies are evolving. Full breakdown in the post.
On July 8, we’re hosting a webinar for founders, investors, and all venture folks: “AI Agents in Banking & Finance, 2025”. We’ll dive into GenAI & Agentic AI use cases, adoption trends across banks/fintech/funds, and how it’s impacting cost structures, revenues, and valuations. Come join us – register here.
Chicago finally turned the heat on – 90+ degrees this week. So I figured, why not try wakeboarding? Headed out to Crystal Lake with friends and although I didn't fully get up, I made a little progress and got those chill Ozark-style lake vibes. If you're in town, hit me up – always down to grab a cold matcha or just talk shop.
Massive thanks to Lizaveta Shyrochyna for bringing this edition to life with world-class design. Looking for a top-tier graphic designer for your fund or project? She's available and exceptional at what she does!
Previous Episodes
What would you like to see in the next episodes? I'd love to hear your ideas – just hit reply and let me know what would be most valuable to you.
re: VC funds / expenses -- my gut says the legal / audit fees might be a little light in the example (only $2M out of $50M fund). also those fees may not be relative to overall fund size. i'm used to seeing more like 5-10% fund expenses for typical $25-50M microVC fund, and if you include extensions past year 10, mgmt fees might be more like 20-25%.
another factor to consider is whether the fund recycles any early exits... industry is split about 50-50 on this being a best practice, but i'd prefer to see at least 10-20% recycling so the fund gets closer to deploying 90-100% of actual capital raise.
anyway, example is still useful and your mileage may vary of course ;)