Monarch Collective, a private equity fund dedicated to women’s sports, has expanded its fund size to $250 million from an initial $150 million used at founding in 2023.
Much of the $100 million raise comes from Monarch’s original investor pool, which includes Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, former Netflix executives Cindy Holland and Annie Imhoff, and Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden. New investors in the latest round are Elizabeth Yee, EVP of programs for the Rockefeller Foundation, and Beth Brooke, the former global vice chair of public policy for Ernst & Young.
“This [raise] is to stay with our core strategy that we launched Monarch with,” said managing partner Jasmine Robinson in a video interview, “so that Kara [Nortman] and I and the rest of our team can be really hands on to help to build and scale those opportunities, and really to continue focusing on those things that we view as most mature.”
Founded by Nortman and Robinson, the Monarch Collective’s strategy is to invest in established leagues such as the NWSL, the WNBA and the Women’s Super League in England. They view those entities as less risky—and with more revenue potential—compared to other competitions. Nortman, a managing partner at Upfront Ventures, was a founding backer in the NWSL’s Angel City FC, while Robinson brought experience in investments with Causeway, Bain Capital and the San Francisco 49ers.
Monarch remains the largest dedicated women’s sports fund in the market. Robinson is encouraged by the increased interest from institutional investors and family offices looking to make a way into the field. “More capital coming into women’s sports is a really good leading indicator of continued growth because there are a lot of teams, leagues and opportunities that really need that growth capital to continue to scale… to attract top operators,” Robinson said.
The firm has investments in three NWSL teams: Angel City, the San Diego Wave and the incoming Boston expansion club. The California franchises have already been sold for multiples of their relatively small expansion fees, while stakeholders for the Boston team include celebrities and athletes with ties to Massachusetts.
In September, Willow Bay and Bob Iger purchased a controlling stake in Angel City at a $250 million valuation, which is a record for a women’s pro sports team. The sale was a major coup for Nortman, who retains her stake along with fellow co-founders Alexis Ohanian, Natalie Portman and Julie Uhrman.
“I think what’s exciting is that you’re seeing lots of people showing up and both believing in the investment outside an opportunity but also seeing real returns coming to bear,” Robinson said. “In that transaction, you’ve seen really smart business leaders… come in as lead owners and saw really nice investment returns and step-ups over time.”
While NWSL teams are still working to turn their first profit, owners are showing a willingness to invest in the league’s foundation—from signing lucrative sponsorships to building team-specific training grounds and stadiums.
Monarch has also explored opportunities in the WNBA, which now has multiple bids for its 16th franchise after the additions of Golden State, Portland and Toronto. That demand has the league considering accepting more than one new team, which will further trim the shares of league revenue and equity of the incumbent WNBA owners.
Citing the rumored $250 million offer from the Cleveland bidding group, Robinson said that investors are wising up to what could be good ROI in women’s pro sports.
“That’s a good indicator of where NBA owners believe the WNBA can trend over time,” Robinson said. “You’re seeing lots of proof points in the market that it’s not just people showing up, but because they think this might be a great investment 10, 20, 30 years from now.”
