# Peterson Partners

Two decades of search-fund investing.

A Salt Lake City investment firm whose dedicated search-fund practice has run for more than two decades. Founder Joel Peterson backed Asurion, one of the earliest and most-cited search funds, and the firm has helped build over 300 businesses across its strategies, partnering with operators on a five-to-ten-year horizon.

- Category: Capital & Investors
- Pricing model: Custom Pricing
- Where it fits: Learn & Choose Your Path, Set Up & Fund the Search
- Website: https://www.petersonpartners.com/search/
- Last verified: 2026-09-04

## At a Glance

If you are raising a traditional search, a two-decade backer whose founder helped write the model's early chapters belongs on the outreach list; arrive fluent in the standard economics.

## What It Costs

Investment terms, not fees: standard traditional search-fund economics (search capital, step-up, acquisition equity, searcher vesting), negotiated per the model's conventions; the Stanford primer in this directory explains the structure.

## Best For

Traditional searchers who want a long-tenured, multi-strategy backer whose founder helped shape the search-fund model

## Pros and Cons

- Pro: A dedicated search-fund practice with more than twenty years behind it
- Pro: Founder Joel Peterson's Asurion role ties the firm to the model's origins
- Pro: A partnership approach and long five-to-ten-year holds, not a quick flip
- Con: Search funds are one of several strategies (growth, buyout, venture, real estate), not the sole focus
- Con: Terms and process are not published, the category norm
- Con: Selective, so a strong personal and deal thesis is table stakes

## What Searchers Say

Named in search-fund discussion as a long-standing backer, anchored by Joel Peterson's role in the model's early history; individual experiences track the specific partner relationship, as with all search investors.

## Sources

- https://www.petersonpartners.com/search/

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/resources/peterson-partners