Private Equity for All: Increasing Interest from Private Wealth

Martina Sanow at PE Insights Italy: Why Staying Invested in Software Matters| 6th May 2026 | Milan

At PE Insights Italy in Milan earlier this month, Martina Sanow, Partner and Head of Hg Wealth, joined Roberto Izzo (Banca Profilo), William Vettorato (EQT Partners) and Federico Romoli (Sella SGR) on stage to discuss the growing case for specialist evergreen strategies in private wealth and why staying continuously invested in structural growth themes matters more than ever.

AI is showing up in real businesses, and how investors should think about long-term opportunity beyond short-term market sentiment is becoming increasingly important. With more than 25 years investing exclusively in B2B Tech and involvement across over 60 private software businesses, we see how AI is being integrated into day-to-day workflows across the real economy. Hg already built a dedicated AI capability back in 2016, which today runs more than 1,600 projects across the portfolio. And what those projects make clear is that the value from AI builds gradually.

The compounding from AI doesn’t arrive on a schedule. It plays out unevenly across years as products mature, integrations land and pricing models catch up, which is exactly why evergreen structures matter. They keep investors deployed through that whole curve rather than forcing them to time entry into it, and that’s where the real advantage of staying continuously invested in specialist software actually shows up.

For private wealth investors, conversations like this are important. The relevant question isn’t whether AI will disrupt software, but where in software it actually creates value and what kind of investment structure lets clients participate in that value over the years it takes to compound.

This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest in any product or strategy. Views expressed are based on current perspectives and may change over time.