Anastasia Elia from IMCO on building a $10B private equity program from scratch
Anastasia Elia is Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at IMCO — the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario — where she leads the team running its roughly $10B private equity program.
When she joined in 2021, IMCO had inherited a small, fragmented portfolio. Ana and the team built it, largely from scratch, into a multi-client program of that scale in about five years.
Katie and Anastasia talk about pacing deployment through a hard market, why IMCO runs 15 core manager relationships, what a "Mini Maple" gains in the middle market, and what a GP has to show to earn a re-up.
She also explains why she passes on the one-and-done fundraisers everyone chases — if a manager doesn't need a partner, there's no relationship to build.
This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Any views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or affiliated organizations. Participation as a guest does not imply any client relationship, endorsement, or future business engagement.
About Our Guest
Anastasia Elia is Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at IMCO — the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario — where she leads the private equity team and sets the strategic direction for the asset class, building the portfolio across fund commitments, co-investments, and direct deals, along with the strategic partnerships behind them.
She joined IMCO in 2021 and has more than 15 years of investment experience across public and private markets. Before IMCO, she spent 11 years at CPP Investments, leading deal teams on fund manager evaluation and direct investments and running legal negotiations across growth and buyout opportunities in North America and Europe.
Anastasia holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, a BBA from the University of Toronto, and is a CFA charterholder.
About The Re-Up:
The Re-Up is a podcast about the business of raising and allocating capital in private markets — and how that work can be done better. In private markets, a re-up is the decision to recommit to a manager's next fund: the ultimate signal of trust. Each episode is a candid conversation with the LPs, GPs, and advisors who have built exceptional track records — the conversations that usually happen over dinner after the conference, not the ones on stage. Hosted by Katie Fasken, founder of August Advisors, a Toronto-based placement firm connecting exceptional private investment managers with institutional capital.