Aqualis Partners has named Hong Pan and Steve Talbot as partners, reuniting a longtime private equity secondaries investment team. Both executives previously worked with Aqualis founder and Managing Partner Cari Lodge at CF Private Equity for more than 12 years.
Pan and Talbot helped build CF Private Equity’s secondaries fund business and invested across both limited partner-led and general partner-led transactions. Their appointments add senior investment experience as Aqualis expands its platform.
Aqualis was founded in 2025 by Lodge, a 25-year veteran of the private equity secondary market. The Darien, Connecticut-based firm focuses primarily on acquiring smaller limited partner interests in private equity funds.
Secondary transactions give investors a way to sell existing interests in private funds before those vehicles reach the end of their normal terms. These deals can help limited partners generate liquidity, rebalance portfolios or reduce exposure to certain managers, strategies or vintages.
GP-led transactions are initiated by fund managers and can involve moving portfolio companies into continuation vehicles. These structures may provide existing investors with the option to sell their interests or remain invested for a longer period.
Pan joins Aqualis from CF Private Equity, where he was a founding member of the secondaries fund program and most recently served as a managing director. During his tenure, he evaluated and completed investments across all four of the firm’s dedicated secondary funds.
His experience also includes investments across buyout, growth equity, venture capital, real assets and sustainability strategies. Before joining CF Private Equity, Pan worked in investment banking at Oppenheimer, advising companies on mergers, acquisitions and capital raising.
Talbot also joins from CF Private Equity, where he helped launch the firm’s secondaries program and most recently served as a managing director. He participated in the deployment of all four dedicated secondary funds and evaluated both LP liquidity solutions and GP-led deals.
Talbot also supported investments across CF Private Equity’s broader private markets platform. He began his career at BB&T Capital Markets, advising companies on mergers, acquisitions and capital markets transactions.
Aqualis believes demand for liquidity in private markets is growing faster than the amount of dedicated capital available to complete secondary transactions. The addition of Pan and Talbot is intended to increase the firm’s ability to evaluate and execute opportunities at a larger scale.
The firm also recently hired Dylan Arpey as director of investor relations. He leads capital formation, investor relations and business development activities for Aqualis.
Arpey previously served as director of investor relations for the Growth Buyout team at SV Health Investors. His earlier roles included investor relations and fundraising positions at Orangewood Partners and Geyser Advisors.
Aqualis has also formed its first analyst class. The group includes investment analysts Cameron Cavanna, Michael Ofodile and Zach Lipsher, along with investor relations analyst Colin Costigan.
Beyond traditional LP interests, Aqualis may pursue opportunistic investments in GP-led transactions, direct investments, preferred securities and seasoned primary commitments. It also expects to evaluate opportunities outside its core markets of the United States and Western Europe.
The firm plans to combine traditional secondaries investing experience with data analytics and artificial intelligence. These capabilities are intended to help Aqualis identify transactions, evaluate portfolios and develop customized liquidity solutions for private market investors.
KEY QUOTES:
“Hong and Steve are two of the most talented secondaries investors I know, and there is no one I would rather have at my side as we build Aqualis. Hong and Steve bring deep expertise across both LP-led and GP-led transactions, and, just as importantly, a shared investment discipline honed over many years of working together.”
“The secondary market is at a significant inflection point, with demand for liquidity outpacing dedicated capital, and their addition gives Aqualis the depth to capture that opportunity at scale.”
Cari Lodge, Founder and Managing Partner of Aqualis Partners
