AGM Alts & Wealth Weekly News Roundup | 1.9.26
The news of the week in private markets and wealth management
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AGM News Roundup
š¦ Wealth Management
Private markets in 2026: M&A and wealth channel will drive growth (again) | Selin Bucak | Citywire | Citywireās Selin Bucak recaps some of the main trends driving the asset and wealth management industries, including asset manager M&A, a focus on wealth and retirement pools of capital, and evergreen funds with continued movement into the mainstream.
Up to 20% of DC sponsors plan to have private markets exposure by 2035: Cerulli | William Johnson | Citywire | Between 15-20% of DC retirement plans are expected to have funds with private assets in the next decade, according to recent research from Cerulli. 37% of plan sponsors are āvery interestedā in learning more about the advantages and disadvantages of including private assets in target-date funds or managed accounts.
A New Year of Evolution for Alts in DC Plans | James van Bramer | PlanAdviser | 2026 is expected to be defined by policy momentum and plan sponsor caution of private markets in defined contribution plans.
Summit Wealth Group Strengthens Leadership Team with Strategic Hires to Support Next Phase of Growth | Morningstar via Business Wire | Summit Wealth Group, a $2.5B Colorado Springs-based RIA thatās backed by Constellation Wealth Capital, hired Chelsea Ganey as CIO and Seamus OāBrien as Head of Advisor Success.
Mercer Caps 2025 With Double Deal Adding $905M in AUM | Diana Britton | Wealth Management | Mercer Global Advisors, the Denver-based RIA with $92B in AUM, closed out its most active year for acquisitions to date in 2025 by acquiring Lake Placid, NY-based $640M RIA Long Run Wealth Advisors and Jackson, WY-based $265M RIA Poterack Capital Advisory.
Do selectors want private asset exposure in multi-asset funds? | Henar Gomez, Pietro Cecere | Citywire | A majority of European fund selectors polled by Citywire believe that multi-asset funds with private markets exposure represent better diversification and potential for enhanced returns.
Cerity Partners merges in $3bn international-focused RIA SOL Capital | Andrew Foerch | Citywire | Internationally focused wealth manager Rockville, MD-based SOL Capital, which has $3B in AUM, has merged with Cerity Partners. This news follows other large US RIAs looking internationally, with Creative Planning acquiring $4.8B AUM British wealth manager Maseco Private Wealth in December.
Goldman Sachs launches Ayco referrals program with Mercer, Wealth Enhancement on board | Andrew Foerch | Citywire | Goldman will refer clients from its Ayco executive financial counseling division out to independent wealth managers, with Mercer Advisors and Wealth Enhancement Group already on board. This news follows reports that Creative Planning has also joined the referral program.
š² Evergreen Funds
The evolution of private markets: hybrid, evergreen, and semi-liquid funds define the new era | Justin Partington | IQEQ | IQEQās Global Head of Fund and Asset Managers breaks down the details and nuances of the different types of evergreen funds and what it means for private markets.
Pantheonās Mike Hutten on the Rise of Evergreen Private Markets Funds for Wealth Investors | Joe Palmisano | Connect Money | Pantheon Partner and U.S. Head of Private Wealth Mike Hutten discusses the rise of evergreen funds and why many advisors āare gravitating toward evergreen structures ā¦ primarily for their operational ease and investor-friendly experiences.ā
š ļø Private Markets Infrastructure
Pluto Raises $8.6M for Private Market Asset Lending Platform | David Bodamer | Wealth Management | Pluto, an AI-powered lending platform aimed at unlocking liquidity in private markets assets for investors, raised seed funding from Motive Ventures, Apollo Global Management, Hamilton Lane, Portage, Tectonic Ventures, and Broadhaven Ventures. Apollo and Hamilton Lane are also balance sheet partners for Pluto [Congrats Neel and Pluto on the progress and round, weāre excited to have been working with you at Broadhaven Ventures].
Morgan Stanley is Betting Big on Digital Assets, Workplace Services, and Private Markets. How They Tie Together | Kenneth Corbin | Barronās | Morgan Stanley is planning to launch a digital wallet later this year that could support all kinds of tokenized assets, including private companiesā equity. The firm plans to launch Bitcoin, ETH, and Solana trading on E*TRADE in the first half of 2026, followed by the launch of a digital wallet in 2H26. MS has also expanded its private markets access via the acquisition of EquityZen and a partnership with Carta.
AIās rapid shift from efficiency tool to growth engine in wealth management | Steve Randall | InvestmentNews | EY Americaās Ugur Hamaloglu says the investment required means the technology has to drive client acquisition, engagement, and personalization.
šø Private Equity
KKR Said to Value Sports Investor Arctos at $1 Billion in Deal | Allison McNeely and Preeti Singh | Bloomberg | KKR has reportedly agreed to acquire $15B AUM sports and GP solutions investment platform Arctos for $1B (which could go up to $1.5B with incentives). Arctos was an early mover in the sports investing arena, taking minority stakes in the NBAās Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz, the NFLās Los Angeles Chargers, the NHLās New Jersey Devils, and French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain.
Stifel launches new private equity funds platform | Alec Rich | Citywire | Stifel is launching a new private equity investing business, 501 North, which will make growth equity investments in healthcare and technology companies.
š³ Private Credit
State-controlled investors own a quarter of private credit | Toby Nangle | Financial Times | State-controlled investors (sovereign wealth funds, pensions) now own around a quarter of total private credit assets, according to data from the FT.
KKR-Backed Catalio Exceeds Goal for Private Credit Fund | Olivia Fishlow and Ellen DiMauro | Bloomberg | Catalio Capital Management, backed by KKR, raised over $325M in commitments for a private credit fund focused on life sciences.
š Real Estate
Crestpoint to Take Minto Apartment REIT Private for $1.7 Billion | Ari Altstedter | Bloomberg | Crestpoint Real Estate Investments agreed to take Ottawa-based landlord Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust private in a deal that values the firm at $1.7B.
š„ Secondaries
GP-led single-asset CVs used for 'high-quality trophy assets,' says Pantheon's Amyn Hassanally | Mary Kathleen Flynn | PE Hub | Pantheon Partner and Global Head of Private Equity Secondaries Amyn Hassanally discussed the long-term and secular growth trend of GP-led secondaries and why single-asset CVs are being used for āhigh-quality trophy assets.ā Data from Morgan Stanley shows that CVs formed from 2018-2024 have outperformed buyout funds across all quartiles on a MOIC basis, with upper-quartile CVs achieving 1.8x MOIC versus 1.6x for comparable buyouts, while median CVs delivered 1.4x compared with 1.3x.
Secondaries Edge: Credit Secondaries and the Price of Liquidity | Paul Elias | The Middle Market | Private credit secondaries is a growing area of the secondaries market, with Evercore estimating that global credit secondaries volume almost doubled from $6B in 2023 to $11B in 2024. That figure is expected to top $18B in 2025, with GP-led transactions taking an increasingly larger share of volume. Coller, HarbourVest, Blackstone, Carlyle AlpInvest, and FoxPath all launched or formalized credit secondaries strategies in 2025.
Secondaries and Evergreen Funds: Venture Capital Strategies to Revive the Unicorn Market | Rocio Martinez | Funds Society | Secondaries and evergreen funds are helping to unlock liquidity in the venture and growth market.
š ļø Infrastructure
Apollo Backs $5.4 Billion Valor and xAI Data Center Compute Infrastructure Transaction with $3.5 Billion Capital Solution | Noah Gunn and Joanna Rose | Apollo | Apollo has led a $3.5B capital solution for Valor Compute Infrastructure, a fund managed by Valor Equity Partners, to support its $5.4B acquisition and lease of data center compute infrastructure to xAI.
Why Japan's GPIF is building its own in-house private markets data engine | Tom Taylor | Infrastructure Investor | Japanās Government Pension Investment Fund is developing its own database of private markets fund managers to refine manager selection as it moves toward making more direct infrastructure investment commitments.
KKR and Oak Hill Capital Commit Nearly $2 Billion to Leading European Data Center Platform Global Technical Realty | Trevor Gibbons and Alex Hinson | Prosek Partners for Oak Hill Capital | KKR and Oak Hill Capital have made a $1.9B equity commitment to Global Technical Realty, a multi-billion dollar European built-to-suit data center platform.
š„© GP Stakes
US asset managers break M&A spending record | Sun Yu | Financial Times | US asset managers spent a record amount in 2025 on M&A as continued consolidation occurs in the industry. Last year saw $38B in transaction volume in the sector.
Montrusco Bolton employees establish majority ownership structure through a strategic partnership with Walter Global Asset Management | Walter Global Asset Management | Walter Global Asset Management | Montrusco Bolton Investments announced that the management team has acquired majority control of the companyās capital and, as part of the transaction, Walter Global Asset Management took a minority stake in the company.
š¬ Private Markets Research
Private Credit Outlook 2026 | With Intelligence | With Intelligence shared its 2026 Private Credit outlook for the upcoming year.
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The credit secondaries data is eye-opening, jumping from $6B to $11B in a single year shows this isn't just growth its acceleration. What jumped out is GP-led deals taking more share, feels like managers are getting more comfortable using continuation vehicles for credit portfolios same way they did with PE. The $18B forecast for 2025 seems ambitious but given the appetite from allocaters looking for liquidity solutions, it tracks. Also intresting how state-controlled investors now own a quarter of private credit, thats a major validation signal for the asset class going mainstream.