VanEck Builds Out Private Markets Capabilities with Hire of Christian Munafo

As more high-growth companies remain private longer, Mr. Munafo brings over two decades of experience managing private investment strategies, building on VanEck’s capabilities as the firm continues expanding access to private market opportunities.

The VanEck Private Funds are highly speculative, subject to significant risk, and are not suitable for all investors. The VanEck Private Funds are not investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and therefore are not subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds or ETFs registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VanEck today announced that private market investment expert Christian Munafo has joined the firm as Portfolio Manager of Growth Equity.

Mr. Munafo has over 20 years of experience in secondaries investing, a category that has exploded over the last several years as private growth companies have stayed private longer. He will play a major role as the firm continues to develop ways to offer private market strategies to a variety of investors. His addition builds on VanEck’s existing private investment capabilities and reflects the firm’s continued expansion in private markets, extending its reach from early-stage venture and digital asset strategies into late-stage private growth investing.

“Market dynamics have shifted significantly in recent years as companies are staying private longer, leading to a greater share of value creation happening outside of public markets,” said Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck. “We have been steadily building our private markets investing solutions through a range of funds and investment strategies, and bringing Christian on board is a natural next step, both in expanding our investment capabilities and in broadening how we provide investors access to these opportunities.”

Mr. Munafo has deep networks across the private innovation ecosystem and brings extensive experience managing a variety of different private market fund structures, ranging from classic drawdown vehicles to 1940 Act closed-end funds. In aggregate, Mr. Munafo has helped raise several billion dollars globally from institutional investors, corporations, pensions, endowments, registered investment advisers and family offices. He has also overseen the completion of hundreds of transactions representing several billion in capital commitments, including investments in direct company securities, purchases of limited partnership interests and complex GP-led transactions (e.g., fund restructurings, recapitalizations, wind-downs, tender programs, preferred equity/loan facilities, etc.).

Prior to joining VanEck, Mr. Munafo served as the Chief Investment Officer of Liberty Street Advisors, Inc. and its affiliates, where he was both a Portfolio Manager and member of the Investment Committee overseeing multiple products focused on late-stage private growth companies. Prior to that, he served as the Co-Head of Global Secondaries at HQ Capital, a German-based asset manager with a global presence and more than $10 billion in AUM. Previously, Mr. Munafo held senior roles at Stifel and its predecessor Thomas Weisel Partners, including Head of Secondaries.

“VanEck’s long and notable history of identifying important market trends early and building investment strategies around them was an instant draw,” said Mr. Munafo. “Just as importantly, the firm has demonstrated a consistent ability to bring institutional-quality opportunities to a broader range of investors on a global scale. With that foundation already established across its private investing efforts, I look forward to helping bring more of these opportunities to investors who have historically been under-allocated to them.”

VanEck’s private investment lineup currently includes the VanEck Ventures Fund I, focused on pre-seed, seed and Series A investments in early-stage projects at the intersection of fintech, digital assets and AI. The VanEck Digital Assets Alpha Fund, a long-biased liquid token-focused fund, and the VanEck PurposeBuilt Fund, which targets high-conviction opportunities across the Avalanche ecosystem, are also key components of VanEck’s private market investment lineup.

The VanEck team provides regular updates and research insights on the firm’s website.

About VanEck

VanEck has a history of looking beyond the financial markets to identify trends that are likely to create impactful investment opportunities. We were one of the first U.S. asset managers to offer investors access to international markets. This set the tone for the firm’s drive to identify asset classes and trends – including gold investing in 1968, emerging markets in 1993, and exchange traded funds in 2006 – that subsequently shaped the investment management industry.

Today, VanEck offers active and passive strategies with compelling exposures supported by well-designed investment processes. As of February 28, 2026, VanEck managed approximately $224.5 billion in assets, including mutual funds, ETFs and institutional accounts. The firm’s capabilities range from core investment opportunities to more specialized exposures to enhance portfolio diversification. Our actively managed strategies are fueled by in-depth, bottom-up research and security selection from portfolio managers with direct experience in the sectors and regions in which they invest. Investability, liquidity, diversity, and transparency are key to the experienced decision-making around market and index selection underlying VanEck’s passive strategies.

Since our founding in 1955, putting our clients’ interests first, in all market environments, has been at the heart of the firm’s mission.

Important Disclosures

This is not an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities, financial instruments or digital assets mentioned herein. The information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, tax advice, or any call to action. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are for illustrative purposes only, are valid as of the date of this communication, and are subject to change without notice. Actual future performance of any assets or industries mentioned are unknown. Information provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. VanEck does not guarantee the accuracy of third party data. The information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck or its other employees.

The VanEck Private Funds are highly speculative, subject to significant risk, and are not suitable for all investors. The VanEck Private Funds are not investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and therefore are not subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds or ETFs registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The VanEck Private Funds’ investment programs entail substantial risks, including a significant risk of loss of your entire principal investment. There can be no assurance that the VanEck Private Funds’ investment objectives will be achieved. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

The VanEck Private Funds are available to Qualified Purchasers Only. Please carefully read the Private Placement Memoranda (“PPMs”) before investing. An investor should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the VanEck Private Funds carefully before investing. The VanEck Private Funds have no operating history and involve a significant degree of risk. There is no guarantee that the VanEck Private Funds will achieve their investment objectives and investors may lose their entire investment. The VanEck Private Funds are not suitable for all investors. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

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