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About
Aretis Advisors specialises in supporting early-stage and emerging investment managers to build institutional-grade financial and operational infrastructure, as well as supporting their fundraising efforts.
After years working within global accounting and private equity firms (e.g. PwC, The Carlyle Group), followed by several years working within start-up investment managers, our founder Markus created Aretis Advisors to bring the best-in-class capabilities of top-tier firms to ambitious, early-stage managers.
Mission and Approach
We believe that every firm should have access to institutional-grade financial and operational leadership and fundraising support, irrespective of their AUM.
Our mission is to democratise strategic and operational excellence, raising the financial and operational bar for emerging investment managers.
We partner with talented investors and operators who are building the next generation of investment platforms.
Our approach is collaborative, detail-orientated and pragmatic. We combine the experiences gained from both global private equity and boutique investment management firms to best serve our clients.
Credentials
Before launching Aretis Advisors, our founder Markus oversaw finance and operations as Director of Finance at a number of boutique investment managers, building out the firms' non-investment capabilities from the ground up.
Prior to this, Markus worked as a Manager in the Fund Management team of a blue-chip private equity firm (The Carlyle Group), where he learned what best-in-class financial and operational infrastructure looked like.
Markus began his career at PwC, where he gained experience across Audit, Management Consulting and Deals Tax, picking up his Chartered Accountancy qualification along the way (ICAEW).
Selected case studies*
1. Spin-out real estate GP — investor-ready in 12 weeks
Client:
First-time UK real estate GP, recently spun out, preparing for institutional fundraising.
Challenges:
Build a lean, institutional-grade finance function and investor-ready materials quickly, without adding permanent headcount.
What we did:
Designed a chart of accounts, monthly close cadence and a concise board / LP reporting pack; introduced version control and naming conventions; implemented core policies and controls (treasury, payments, approvals) and an audit-readiness plan; built a lightweight budget tied to first-close timing and fee runway.
Results:
LP reporting live by month two; monthly close time reduced to 7 business days; first-close materials accepted by target LPs; data room structure agreed; year-one audit progressed without material findings.
Deliverables included Board / LP pack; controls matrix; close calendar; data-room index; cashflow / runway tracker.
Timeline & role:
c. 12 weeks; finance / ops lead
2. Boutique real estate manager — IR cadence and DDQ upgrade
Client:
UK boutique raising a first institutional fund.
Challenges: Irregular updates and a DDQ below investor expectations slowed momentum.
What we did:
Rewrote the DDQ to align to investor expectations; created track-record proxies / evidence; set a quarterly IR update cadence with a light but disciplined metrics set.
Results:
Faster investor follow-ups and clearer next steps post-meeting; delivery of investor-ready DDQ.
Timeline & role:
c. 6 weeks; IR process lead
3. Operational cashflow framework
(management company and funds)
Client:
Emerging manager preparing for a fund launch, with cash uncertainties at firm- and fund-level.
Challenges:
Limited visibility on firm runway; uncertainty around timing and amounts of capital calls.
What we did:
Built an integrated, dynamic cashflow model covering the management company (incl. fee income and material expenses) and fund (incl. SPV cashflows and material expenses).
Modelled several scenarios based on different fundraising timings and amounts, deployment pacing, etc., which automatically triggered specific actions (e.g. a gate on hiring, vendor renegotiation).
Results:
Clear runway and action points; fewer last-minute cash shortfalls; capital call timings aligned with management fees and operational expenditure; less operational noise during fundraising.
Timeline & role:
c. 4 weeks; finance / treasury lead.
* whilst working in an in-house role
