AGM Alts & Wealth Weekly News Roundup | 2.6.26
The news of the week in private markets and wealth management
š Hi, Iām Michael.
Welcome to AGM, the meeting place for private markets.
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 donāt miss the long read and newsletter ā the AGM Alts Weekly ā delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
If you have relevant news or an article or research report to share, please email me at michael@theagmcollective.com.
AGM has launched the AGM Community and AGM Events!
Weāve also built out the AGM Community RIA Advisory Board, an experienced, thoughtful, and intellectually curious group of private wealth management and private markets executives and operators, to help shape the direction of AGM Community.
Weāre going to be holding our first RIA Field Trip on May 19-20 in NYC. If youāre an RIA and youāre interested in joining the Field Trip, please reach out or click on the link above for more information.
AGM News Roundup
š¦ Wealth Management
Dynasty Sells Sixth Minority Stake to Investor Consortium | Alex Ortolani | Wealth Management | Dynasty announced that it sold a minority stake to a consortium of current investors, employees, clients, board members, and Fortress Investment Group.
āA matter of timeā: Peter Mallouk says fee compression is inevitable for mega-RIAs | Andrew Foerch | Citywire | Creative Planning CEO Peter Mallouk said that fee compression is coming for large RIAs, noting that firms that canāt win on price will have to leverage high-end branding, niche services, or something āoutside of the norm of the marketplaceā to survive and compete.
Wealth Partners Capital Group, HGGC raised $400m in debt deal with Ares: Sources | Andrew Foerch, Ian Wenik | Citywire | Serial RIA minority investor Wealth Partners Capital Group raised $400m last year through a debt deal with Ares to provide financing for the WPCG and HGGC holding company, Aspire Holdings, to make minority investments in RIAs.
Clearstead acquires $5.1bn Seattle MFO Clarius Group | Andrew Foerch | Citywire | Clarius Group, a Seattle-based MFO with around $5.1B AUM, was bought by Clearstead. This acquisition will push Clearstead north of $55B AUM.
Is This the Start of a Financial Advisor Retirement Boom? | Hesom Parhizkar | Wealth Management | 57,000 financial advisors left the industry in 2025, outstripping the 53,000 that entered the ranks of wealth management.
Advisers have a āhealthy scepticismā of private markets | Tara OāConnor | FT Adviser | FE Fundinfoās Head of Private Markets Maryam Longrus said that advisers have a 'āhealthy scepticismā of private markets and that many understand the risks involved. Longrus underscored the importance of providing advisers with transparency and data needed to make well-informed decisions.
Ameriprise lands $28bn wealth partnership with Huntington National Bank | Alec Rich | Citywire | Ameriprise Financial struck a major partnership deal this week, agreeing to manage the retail brokerage, investment advisory, and insurance assets of Huntington National Bank, which total $28B.
How Schroders built an Ā£81bn private markets titan by avoiding the crowds | Mark Latham | Funds Europe | Georg Wunderlin, CEO of Schroders Capital, talks with Funds Europe about the firmās evolution to becoming Euorpeās sixth-largest private markets player and why they are focused on UKās pension savers.
š² Evergreen Funds
Adviser uptake to drive growth in evergreen launches | Laura Dew | Money Management | Private markets managers are expected to launch more evergreen funds this coming year, according to Hamilton Lane.
Morningstar PitchBook Evergreen Fund Indexes Now Available | Morningstar | Morningstar announced that its full suite of Morningstar PitchBook US Evergreen Fund Indexes is available.
Team Behind SecondaryLink Launches Market Intelligence Platform Dedicated to Semi-Liquid Evergreen Funds | PR Newswire | SecondaryLink announced the launch of EvergreenLink, a standalone intelligence platform that tracks hundreds of evergreen funds.
š ļø Private Markets Infrastructure
Partners Capital and iCapitalĀ® Expand Access to Institutional-Quality Private Equity for Wealth Managers and Their Clients | iCapital | iCapital and Partners Capital announced the expanded launch of a private equity strategy designed to open institutional-grade opportunities to wealth managers, advisors, and their clients across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Partners Capital initially launched the vehicle as a closed-end vehicle seeded by clients of Partners Capital before turning the vehicle into an open-ended structure.
šø Private Equity
KKR to buy sports investment group Arctos for $1.4bn | Antoine Gara and Julia Rock | Financial Times | In another major acquisition in asset management, KKR has agreed to acquire Arctos Partners for $1.4B (the deal value could rise to close to $2B if up to $550M in performance milestones are achieved). The acquisition of Arctos, which will now be called KKR Solutions, provides KKR with both secondaries and sports investing capabilities. There are also synergies with KKRās capabilities in real estate finance, asset-backed lending, and insurance to offer sports clients solutions in financing stadiums and media rights deals.
Brookfield Taps Teskey as Head of $1 Trillion Asset Manager | Layan Odeh | Bloomberg | Brookfield Asset Management named Connor Teskey CEO, marking the final step in Bruce Flattās plans to transition the day-to-day leadership of Brookfield Asset Management. Flatt will continue as chair of the board and in his role as the CEO of Brookfield Corp. Teskey, 38, is now one of the youngest executives to run a firm of this size on Wall Street.
Ex-Goldman Rainmakerās Primavera Is Seeking to Raise Fund | Lulu Yilun Chen and Echo Wong | Bloomberg | Hong Kong-based Primavera Capital is weighing a new Asia fund to invest in consumer and technology startups. The firm was started by former Goldman Sachs rainmaker Fred Hu. Other Asia-focused funds are also returning to market to fundraise, including Bain Capital, which is looking for $7B.
Australiaās No. 1 Pension Seeks to Double Private Equity Assets | Amy Bainbridge and Richard Henderson | Bloomberg | AustralianSuper is looking for private equity deals in Asia, with the firmās Asia PE strategy focused on looking for opportunities to āco-underwrite, co-invest with deep partnersā in more developed nation economies where it has existing connections.
Otro Raises $1.2 Billion for First Buyout Fund Amid Sports Boom | Allison McNeely | Bloomberg | Otro Capital, founded by alumni of RedBird Capital Partners, raised $1.2B for its first flagship private equity fund focused on sports. Otro recently took an equity stake in for-profit Utah Brands & Entertainment, which was formed to generate revenue for the University of Utah athletics program.
Clearlake Gets Fundraise Extension After Doubling Commitment | Allison McNeely | Bloomberg | Clearlake will double its commitment to Fund VIII to around $600M. The firm also agreed to lower the hard cap of the fund to $14.2B from $15B. The firm has already raised around $13B for the fund.
š³ Private Credit
Private Credit Joins Race to Rebuild Europeās Defense Industry | Francesca Veronesi and Rene Ismail | Bloomberg | Private credit firms are helping to fund Europeās defense build-up, with a slate of recent deals suggesting that private capital is helping to finance Europeās defense sector.
P10 Expands into Lower-Middle Market Direct Lending with Acquisition of Stellus Capital Management | P10 | P10 acquired Stellus Capital Management, a US direct lender specializing in senior secured loans in the lower-middle market. P10 bought $3.8B AUM ($2.6B fee-paying AUM) for an initial purchase price of $250M.
Blackstoneās Jon Gray Sees Disruption Risk in Private Credit | AnnaMaria Andriotis | WSJ | Blackstoneās President and COO John Gray said Tuesday at WSJ Invest Live that the private credit industry is healthy, particularly based on what they see in their portfolio, he said. He did note ādisruption riskā in the sector, citing the accelerating pace of change from AI that could have implications on company valuations and business models across industries.
Ares Completes Acquisition of BlueCove to Launch Systematic Credit Strategy | Ares | Ares has completed its acquisition of BlueCove, a London-based systematic fixed-income business. The integrated business will now operate as Ares Systematic Credit, offering systematic fixed-income strategies.
Goldman, Blackstone to Fund $976 Million Loan for Pharma Buyout | Sharon Klyne and Megawati Wijaya | Bloomberg | Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Blackstone, and Apollo will back Australian private equity firm BGH Capitalās acquisition of Aspen Pharmacare Holdingsā Asia Pacific Operations with a $976M loan. Private credit in Asia appears to be growing, in part due to the increased PE activity in the region and an opening up of capital markets and take-privates across the region.
š Real Estate
Fortress Eyes Deals Milestone as Rivals Shun $4.5 Trillion Property Refinancing Wall | Sinead Cruise and Natasha Voase | Bloomberg | Fortress has been active in commercial real estate debt since 2022, growing new originations to $1.7B in 2024 and $3.4B in 2025.
Alternative-Asset Manager Patria Buys Student-Housing Company | Cristiane Lucchesi | Bloomberg | Patria, one of the largest alternative asset managers in Latin America, acquired Share Student Living, a Brazilian real estate firm that specializes in student housing.
š„ Secondaries
Alternative Asset Firm Dawson to Debut Credit Secondary Strategy | Preeti Singh and Layan Odeh | Bloomberg | Dawson Partners is throwing its hat in the ring in a fast-growing credit secondaries market that is seeing a number of new funds raised for the strategy. Dawson has already participated in a few credit secondaries transactions, including Crescent Capital Groupās continuation fund.
Ardian collects over $5bn for latest infra secondaries fund - exclusive | Siqalane Taho | Infrastructure Investor | Ardianās latest infrastructure secondaries fund has raised over $5.2B. The fund, initially launched in December 2024 with a $5B target, has now seen its fund target increase to $7.5B.
š ļø Infrastructure
BlackRockās GIP Teams Up With EQT in Bid to Acquire Power Firm AES | Ryan Gould, Dinesh Nair and Michelle F Davis | Bloomberg | BlackRockās Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT have teamed up in a bid to buy power company AES, which is currently publicly traded.
Hamilton Lane Closes on Nearly $2 Billion in Infrastructure Opportunities Fund II and Related Vehicles, Tripling Size of Predecessor Fund | PR Newswire | Hamilton Lane announced the final closing of the Hamilton Lane Infrastructure Opportunities Fund II, with $1.5B closed in the fund and another $400M invested alongside the fund in related vehicles. The fund has exceeded its target of $1.25B.
Cerebras Raises $1 Billion in Funding at $23 Billion Value | Ian King | Bloomberg | AI chip provider Cerebras Systems has raised $1B in a new funding round led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Benchmark, Fidelity, and AMD.
KKR, Singtel Consortium to Acquire STT GDC for $5.2 Billion | Elffie Chew, Manuel Baigorri and Alex Dooler | Bloomberg | A KKR-led consortium has agreed to buy data center operator STT GDC for $5.2B in cash.
š„© GP Stakes
GP-level M&A deals reached record levels in 2025 - Campbell Lutyens | Hannah Zhang | PEI | M&A activity in alternative asset management hit record levels last year, according to Campbell Lutyens. There were 164 private markets GP transactions in 2025, up from 117 the year prior. M&A deals involving private credit managers represented the largest deal share by asset class, with 58 transactions in private credit. Private equity followed with 47 transactions.
Structuring GP stakes investments: Practical considerations for stakeholders | Dario Valoncini, Robert Nield and Lavanya Raghavan | White & Case | The GP stakes market has grown significantly, with total deal value reaching $20B in 2025, according to data available from With Intelligence.
š¬ Private Markets Research
Quantitative Perspectives: US Market Insights | Zane Carmean, Nathan Schwartz, Miles Ostroff and Jacobie Fullerton | PitchBook | PitchBookās data finds that private markets ādefied easy narratives in 2025.ā
Seismic Shifts That Could Drive Private Markets | Anthony D. Tutrone and Chris Bokosky | Neuberger Berman | Neubergerās Tutrone and Bokosky highlight the āseismic sixā secular trends that could be important for those investing in private markets to keep top of mind.
Some testimonials about AGM include:
āAlt Goes Mainstream is category of one.ā Global Head of Marketing & Communications, $X00B AUM alternative asset manager.
āWhen it comes to the intersection of alternative investments and wealth management, Michael just gets it.ā CIO, $18B AUM RIA.
āThis is our primary resource for learning and reading about alts.ā Head of Marketing, $250B AUM alternative asset manager.
āIf you want timely and informative insights on everything private markets, Michael Sidgmore and Alt Goes Mainstream weekly update and podcast are fantastic resources.ā CIO, $47B AUM RIA.
āThe only email I never delete when clearing my inbox.ā Senior distribution professional, $330B+ AUM asset manager.