The head of private equity group Carlyle's energy division is contributing $100 million of his own money to its latest $4 billion fund, as investors ratchet up pressure on top dealmakers to invest more out of their own pocket.

Marcel van Poecke, who oversees Carlyle's international energy fund, has committed a similar amount from his personal fortune to the latest fundraising as he did in the last one, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Private equity investors expect senior managers, such as those at Carlyle, to deploy their personal wealth into deals they pursue, but contributions are increasing as the size of funds swell.

“Investors want to ensure alignment of interest between themselves and the executives who manage their money,” said a veteran corporate lawyer.

As one of the most prominent energy dealmakers in the private equity industry globally, van Poecke founded and ran Swiss-based oil refiner Petroplus before selling it to Carlyle and its former New York-based partner Riverstone in 2005.

He left Petroplus in late 2007 following its listing on the Zurich stock exchange. Carlyle and Riverstone made healthy profits on the deal, but the company went bankrupt five years later.

The 58-year-old is also the chairman of AtlasInvest, a private holding company he founded over a decade ago, and chairman of Oranje-Nassau Energie, an AtlasInvest portfolio company with oil and gas assets in the North Sea and west Africa.

Married with six children, he recently purchased a $22.3 million mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., therealdeal.com reported, citing property records. His nonexecutive roles include those at Argos-North Sea Group, Hestya, Varo and Discover Exploration.

“The notion of ‘skin in the game’ is an important one and investors want a meaningful proportion of net wealth to be put on the line so as to ensure that executives are focused on downside risk as well as upside returns,” the corporate lawyer said.

The new fund under van Poecke will invest in oil and gas assets outside North America, aiming to fill a gap left by international energy companies who are keeping a tight grip of their purse strings after a multiyear downturn.

The fund will buy companies that are active in all parts of the energy supply chain, from exploration and production, refining and marketing to oilfield services.

van Poecke's commitment to the fund comes as private equity groups are raising record amounts of cash at their fastest pace thanks to investors seeking profitable investments in a low-interest rate environment. Carlyle declined to comment.

Executives at buyout funds say they intend to increase the amount of money they place from their own pockets and top managers are expected to commit on average 3.3% of the total fundraising, according to a report by the bank Investec. This compares to roughly 1% or 2% in years past, said the report, which is based on 292 responses. But separate research has shown a recent decline in commitments.

“If you are at 1% then you had better have a very good reason why it’s not higher,” said Joe Topley, London director at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the Canadian investment group, in the report.

Private equity executives earn carried interest, a share of investment profits that is traditionally paid to fund managers as incentives to boost returns. Many of them are relying on carried interest from previous funds to provide the cash for their personal contributions to new ones. Carried interest is taxed as capital gain, rather than as personal income, allowing private equity managers to pay lower tax rates.

“It is commonplace for investors to demand larger commitments as the wealth of executives increase,” the lawyer said. Carlyle’s $18 billion flagship fund included commitments of roughly $1 billion from its employees, according to regulatory filings.