AGM Alts & Wealth Weekly News Roundup | 7.18.25
The news of the week in private markets and wealth management
👋 Hi, I’m Michael.
Welcome to AGM, the meeting place for private markets.
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.
Some testimonials about the AGM Sunday Alts Weekly newsletter include:
"Alt Goes Mainstream is category of one." Global Head of Marketing & Communications, $X00B AUM alternative asset manager.
“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.
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
Private-Markets Giant Blue Owl Pushes Into 401(k)s | Miriam Gottfried | Wall Street Journal | Blue Owl has partnered with retirement services provider Voya to develop products that will bring private assets to 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans.
BlackRock’s Key Retirement Funds to Get Private Assets in 2026 | Silla Brush | Bloomberg | BlackRock expects to launch its own target-date funds that include private assets by next year. The LifePath target-date fund will include private credit and private equity investments, in addition to stocks and bonds.
Trump Executive Order to Help Open Up 401(k)s to Private Markets | Miriam Gottfried, Dylan Tokar, Matt Wirz | Wall Street Journal | US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order that will help make private markets investments more accessible to American retirement plans.
🌲 Evergreen Funds
Private banks reserve semi-liquids for wealthier clients | John Schaffer | Citywire | Per a Citywire survey of 10 private banks, 80% are currently using semi-liquid funds.
StepStone Group expands investor access to evergreen funds with Goji's technology | Brian Ruby, Chris Gillick, Matt Lettiero | StepStone Group | StepStone Group is partnering with private funds technology and services provider Goji to improve access to several of its European private market evergreen funds.
💸 Private Equity
Calpers pushes further into private equity after best results in 4 years | Mary McDougall | Financial Times | After posting an impressive 11.6% gain for its latest financial year, CalPERS plans to continue increasing its exposure to private equity. [Read an AGM Op-Ed from former Pantheon Partner Susan Long McAndrews on this topic here].
Stone Point Wraps Up 10th Flagship Fund at $11.5 Billion | Chris Cumming | Wall Street Journal | Trident X, Stone Point's latest flagship fund, closed at $11.5B, marking a significant increase from the $9B raised for its previous flagship and closing on the year’s third-largest US private equity fund.
💳 Private Credit
Blue Owl Capital Announces Final Close for Private Offering of an Alternative Credit Fund | Ann Dai and Nick Theccanat | Blue Owl | Blue Owl announced the final close of the private offering of an alternative credit fund, securing $850 million in capital commitments from a diverse client base across its global private wealth channel and marking a major milestone for the firm’s Private Wealth platform.
Middle market private companies may see record bankruptcies in 2025 – Marblegate | Sami Vukelj | PitchBook | According to new data from Marblegate Asset Management and RapidRatings, middle market companies may see record bankruptcy levels due to persistent cost pressures and cash flow issues, with recent financial data suggesting a broader deterioration of financial health across middle market businesses.
Banks Are Playing Long Game in Push to Trade Private Credit | Carmen Arroyo, Olivia Fishlow, Ellen Schneider | Bloomberg | Banks including Bank of America, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley are establishing their own efforts to buy and sell private loans.
🏠 Real Estate
Starwood Strikes $2.2 Billion Real Estate Deal With Brookfield | Patrick Clark | Bloomberg | Starwood Property Trust agreed to acquire Fundamental Income Properties for $2.2 billion from Brookfield Asset Management as it aims to further diversify the company’s revenue.
🥈 Secondaries
Coller Capital offers private credit secondaries to the wealthy in the US | Madeline Shi | PitchBook | Coller Capital has launched the US version of CollerCredit, its wealth channel-oriented private credit secondaries offering in a tender offer structure.
Pantheon raises $2.2bn for third credit opportunities fund | Robin Blumenthal | Private Debt Investor | Pantheon Credit Opportunities III fund closed at $2.2B, hauling in almost three times its original target. According to Pantheon, the fund spans senior, junior, asset-backed and opportunistic credit strategies.
As Exits Slow, Venture Secondaries Tick Up | Matt Toledo | Chief Investment Officer | The VC secondaries market continues to grow as an alternative source of liquidity.
🛠️ Infrastructure
Blackstone to Invest More Than $25 Billion in Pennsylvania’s Digital and Energy Infrastructure, Plus Catalyze an Additional $60 Billion Investment | Paula Chirhart and Jeff Kauth | Blackstone | Blackstone announced today that funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure and Blackstone Real Estate will invest over $25B to support the build out of Pennsylvania’s digital and energy infrastructure and help catalyze an additional $60B investment into the state.
Wilshire Indexes and GCM Grosvenor Launch Private Market Infrastructure Index, Laying Foundation for Broader Strategic Alliance | Tom Johnson and Abigail Ruck | GCM Grosvenor | Wilshire and GCM Grosvenor have partnered to launch the FT Wilshire Private Markets Infrastructure Index, a first-of-its-kind index that tracks numerous leading open-ended infrastructure funds.
🥩 GP Stakes
TPG Next spells out the financial case for taking ‘GP stakes’ in emerging managers | Jessica Pothering | ImpactAlpha | TPG Next emphasizes the upside potential of GP stakes in managers with under $1B in AUM.
🔬 Private Markets Research
Mid-Year Outlook for 2025: Make Your Own Luck | Henry H. McVey, David McNellis, Aidan T. Corcoran, Changchun Hua | KKR | In its comprehensive mid-year report, KKR evaluates H1 2025. The report highlights major events and macro investment themes, such as the "security of everything," transitions to capital-light business models, public-to-private initiatives and inter-Asia connectivity.
PitchBook Analyst Note: Issues Around Private Assets and 401(k)s | Nizar Tarhuni, Daniel Cook, Paul Condra, Zane Carmean, Hilary Wiek, Kyle Stanford, Taylor Criswell | PitchBook | As an executive order may encourage the incorporation of private assets in defined contribution plans, this latest PitchBook report discusses some of the remaining hurdles that may complicate this process.
This is absolutely brilliant, Michael - The rise of evergreen funds and the march into 401(k)s feels like the beginning of a proper shift in the wealth space. And I love how you stitch everything together with solid curation and clarity, no fluff.
According to PwC, private markets could double to $23tn AUM by 2026 - your newsletter’s basically the satnav for that journey.
How do you decide what makes the cut each week with so much happening across private credit, real assets and secondaries?