AGM Alts & Wealth Weekly News Roundup | 6.27.25
The news of the week in private markets and wealth management
👋 Hi, I’m Michael.
Welcome to AGM, the meeting place for private markets.
I’m excited to share a weekly news roundup across private markets and wealth management.
Every Friday, I share headlines and news on the continuing evolution and innovation in private markets.
If you also want deep and nuanced industry analysis, subscribe below so you can have the long read and newsletter — the AGM Alts Weekly — delivered to your inbox every Sunday. I share relevant news articles, commentary, an Index of publicly traded alternative asset managers, job openings at private markets firms, and recent podcasts and thought pieces from Alt Goes Mainstream.
Some testimonials about the AGM Sunday Alts Weekly newsletter include:
“When it comes to the intersection of alternative investments and wealth management, Michael just gets it.” CIO, $18B AUM RIA.
“This is our primary resource for learning and reading about alts.” Head of Marketing, $250B AUM alternative asset manager.
“If you want timely and informative insights on everything private markets, Michael Sidgmore and Alt Goes Mainstream weekly update and podcast are fantastic resources.” CIO, $47B AUM RIA.
“The only email I never delete when clearing my inbox.” Senior distribution professional, $330B+ AUM asset manager.
Join us to understand what’s going on in private markets so you and your firm can stay up to date on the latest trends at the intersection of private markets and wealth management and navigate this rapidly changing landscape.
If you have relevant news or an article or research report to share, please email me at michael@theagmcollective.com.
AGM News Roundup
🏦 Wealth Management
Fidelity rolls out custom models with alts via Envestnet partnership | Sam Bojarski | Citywire | The fund management giant now offers a wide range of alternative investment products to RIAs, catering to a variety of investment preferences.
$287bn Edelman Financial Engines mulls sale to strategic acquirer: Sources | Ian Wenik | Citywire | The $287B RIA's private equity sponsors, Hellman & Friedman and Warburg Pincus, have retained Moelis as their investment banker and are considering strategic alternatives.
Wealth managers gear up to put UK savings into private assets | Emma Dunkley and Alexandra Heal | Financial Times | The UK’s largest wealth managers are preparing to sell private markets products to their retail customers.
Robo-advisor Wealthfront files for IPO | Andrew Foerch | Citywire | The $35B independent robo giant has submitted a confidential ‘Form S-1’ draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Young Investor Demand for Alternative Assets Is Reshaping Wall Street's Playbook | Lu Wang | Bloomberg | Younger investors are straying from the original 60/40 model and increasingly allocating to alternative assets.
🌲 Evergreen Funds
Private Funds for Retail Investors Jump to $350 Billion, Morningstar Says | Silla Brush | Bloomberg | Wealthy retail investors have driven a 60% surge in the semi-liquid fund market, which has ballooned to $350B.
A Closer Look at Semiliquid Funds | Brian Moriarty, Jason Kephart, Jack Shannon, and Karen Zaya, Ph.D. | Morningstar | Key takeaways from Morningstar's recently-published 'The State of Semiliquid Funds' Report.
Here’s what Merrill and UBS gatekeepers want from evergreen fund managers | Tania Mitra | Citywire | Kristen Griffin, head of investment manager analysis at UBS, and Anna Snider, Bank of America's top gatekeeper, discuss the explosive growth of evergreen products.
💸 Private Equity
Wall Street firms emerge as top bidders for insurer Brighthouse | Antoine Gara, Sujeet Indap, Oliver Barnes | Financial Times | TPG and Aquarian Holdings are the two final bidders for Brighthouse Financial, an insurer with over $100B in assets.
Middle Market PE Firms Optimistic for 2026 Deal Revival | John Crabb | Institutional Investor | Middle market private equity firms are cautiously optimistic about an uptick in dealmaking beginning in the first half of next year.
Europe’s €14 Trillion Defense Tab Needs Private Capital, Carlyle Says | Aaron Kirchfeld | Bloomberg | According to Carlyle, Europe could spend up to €14T on defense and related infrastructure over the next decade, giving private capital plenty of opportunity.
Private Equity Firms Pursue Asian Loans to Fund Investor Payouts | Kari Soo Lindberg and Chien Mi Wong | Bloomberg | Private equity funds are increasingly relying on leveraged loans to fund dividend payouts as they struggle with exiting corporate buyouts.
Morgan Stanley Collects $3.2 Billion for Middle Market Deals | Preeti Singh | Bloomberg | Morgan Stanley Capital Partners' latest fund, North Haven Capital Partners II, has raised $3.2B.
💳 Private Credit
PGIM Builds a $1 Trillion Credit Unit in New CEO’s Overhaul | Alexandre Rajbhandari and Silla Brush | Bloomberg | PGIM is combining its public fixed income and private credit units into one, and the combined unit will manage over $1T of assets.
S&P Global Expands Private Markets Offering With Private Credit Identifiers Using LoanX IDs | PR Newswire | LoanX IDs are designed to boost interoperability and operational efficiency across the private credit space.
🏠 Real Estate
PIMCO: Traditional RE strategies 'insufficient' in today's market | Greg Dool | PERE | In its latest sector outlook, the asset manager advises investors to forego broad allocations and take a more targeted approach.
Schroders sees buoyed interest in institutional real estate debt | Randy Plavajka | PERE Credit | The London-based firm finds investors and wealth gatekeepers eyeing more opportunities for yield in real estate debt alongside broader private debt push.
🥈 Secondaries
Blackstone anticipates its busiest year for secondaries deployment | Madeline Farman | Secondaries Investor | Blackstone President and COO Jon Gray expects the secondaries market to continue to grow as LPs demand liquidity, though he believes M&A activity will pick up this year.
Axios Q&A: SQ Capital founder on secondaries’ staying power | Dan Primack | Axios | SQ Capital founder and CEO Mustafa Siddiqui believes that the rise of secondaries is here to stay.
Investor Intentions: Generali Investments launches $1bn private credit secondaries Article 8 fund with Partners Group | Servane Burret | New Private Markets | The Generali Private Credit Secondaries Fund will target both LP-led and GP-led private credit transactions globally.
🛠️ Infrastructure
Europe expands share of global PE infrastructure fundraising | Emily Lai | PitchBook | European infrastructure fundraising has neared €40 billion (around $46 billion) so far this year, establishing itself as the dominant region in infrastructure fundraising.
L&G funds boss predicts infrastructure will dominate private assets | David Ricketts | Private Equity News | L&G's asset management chief executive Eric Adler continues to increase the firm's presence in private markets and notes infrastructure as a “huge long-term story.”
🥩 GP Stakes
Millennium's $14 Billion Valuation Hinges on Scarcity | Chris Hughes | Bloomberg Opinion | Despite a high valuation relative to its assets, a potential minority stake sale of Millennium Management remains an attractive opportunity to many investors.
Investment Insights: Seeding and Scaling the Next Generation of Investment Firms | Pamela Pavkov, Marcus Lawrence, Gabe Lipton Galbraith | TPG Next | TPG's Anilu Vazquez-Ubarri, Pamela Pavkov, and Marcus Lawrence discuss the the growth and evolution of the firm's seeding and staking strategy.
🔬 Private Markets Research
Blue Owl 2025 Midyear Outlook | Blue Owl | Blue Owl’s senior leadership shares insights on where they see the “most compelling opportunities within their respective asset classes” across Credit, Real Assets, and GP Stakes.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management Guide to Alternatives | J.P. Morgan | Comprehensive guide providing market insights for a variety of alternative asset classes, including real assets, private equity and private credit.
2025 CAIS Alternative Asset Manager Survey Report | CAIS | Survey representing 30 leading global and domestic asset managers shows a major shift toward the wealth channel in the private markets.
Private credit and secondaries emerge as leading strategies for alternative asset allocation amid macro uncertainty | Coller Research Institute | Coller Capital | New survey findings from Coller Capital show that secondaries are still showing strong signs of growth.
