AGM Alts & Wealth Weekly News Roundup | 4.10.26
The news of the week in private markets and wealth management
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AGM News Roundup
đŚ Wealth Management
$42bn Lido Advisors forms broker-dealer affiliate | Peter Saalfield | Citywire | $42B AUM Lido Advisors is adding a broker-dealer affiliate. Once approved, the entity will offer mutual funds, 529 plans, and variable insurance products to Lidoâs clients. Lidoâs investors include Charlesbank, HPS Partners, and Constellation Wealth Capital.
$93bn AlTi Global held unsuccessful talks to spin out RIA unit: Sources | Ian Wenik | Citywire | Publicly traded wealth manager AlTi Global held talks to spin out its RIA business to potential strategic acquirers. âAlTi has no plans to spin out any part of the business,â a spokesperson for the company said. âBeing able to meet the complex needs of our clients on a global basis is a key differentiator for the firm.â
NFL and U.S. Bank announce partnership centered on banking and wealth management | U.S. Bank | The NFL and U.S. Bank announced a multi-year partnership, naming U.S. Bank as a new official bank and wealth management sponsor of the NFL. U.S. Bank will also offer financial education to increase player financial empowerment.
Hightower Signature to Acquire $3.2B Lexington Wealth Management | Diana Britton | Wealth Management | Hightowerâs Signature Wealth business, the branded W-2 channel it launched in October, continues to grow. The firm just acquired Lexington Wealth Management, a $3.2B firm based in Lexington, Massachusetts, which it had made a strategic investment into in 2019.
đ˛ Evergreen Funds
Why Hightower's top alts gatekeeper isn't in love with interval funds | Tania Mitra | Citywire | Hightowerâs Head of Alternative Investments Robert Picard shares his views on why interval funds are not the best option for private markets investments. Picard said in an interview that itâs a âfalse comfort to believe that [interval funds] are liquid, because theyâre really not.â Picard also shared perspectives on the current market environment: âI think the good news, and I think this will be the positive outcome of what we just saw, and itâs my personal wish for the future, is that the entire industry, both the GPs, the fund managers and the investors, the wealth management firms and institutional investors who allocate to these different vehicles have a newer appreciation for the distinction between the three [BDCâs, interval and tender offer funds] and hopefully money starts to come back towards the tender offer vehicles in a more meaningful way.â
Morgan Stanley Plans Private Credit Fund Even as Investors Flee | Ellen DiMauro and Olivia Fishlow | Bloomberg | Morgan Stanley plans to launch an interval fund, the North Haven Strategic Credit Fund, that invests into private credit.
đ ď¸ Private Markets Infrastructure
MSCI advances transparency in private markets with acquisition of PM Insights | MSCI | MSCI has acquired PM Insights, a specialist private markets data and analytics firm that provides daily secondary market reference data, including on pricing, valuation, transaction and liquidity, for private company securities.
Gen IIâs FundedÂŽ Digital Subscription Platform Achieves Milestones in Fundraising Activity and Adds Strategic Enhancements | Gen II Fund Services | Business Wire | Gen II Fund Services announced strategic enhancements for Funded, its market-leading digital subscription platform. Funded has completed over 3,000 closings across every major alternative asset class, facilitating the close of $485B in capital raised across 40,000 subscriptions.
đ¸ Private Equity
H.I.G. Capital Appoints Brian Schwartz as First Non-Founder CEO | Veena Ali-Khan and Liana Baker | Bloomberg | H.I.G. is in the process of a leadership transition, appointing Brian Schwartz as the CEO of the $74B AUM firm. Schwartz will be the first non-founder to lead the private equity firm, which has its sights set on growing to $100B AUM in the next three years. Co-Founder Sami Mnaymneh will become executive chairman, a role he will share with fellow co-founder Tony Tamer.
Easing Mideast Tensions Could Boost Private Equity Dealmaking, Baratta Says | Preeti Singh | Bloomberg | An easing of hostilities in the Middle East may create conditions that bolster private equity dealmaking, according to Blackstoneâs Global Head of Private Equity Strategies Joe Baratta. The impact of the war in Iran on âkey energy markets is not conducive to a lot of deal flow and a lot of risk-taking,â Baratta said on Wednesday. Baratta also touched on the state of the SaaS market, noting that there will also be companies that can use AI to make their embedded business systems operate more efficiently.
Top UK Port Operatorâs ÂŁ10 Billion Sale Draws KKR, GIP, DP World | Dinesh Nair and Vinicy Chan | Bloomberg | The sale of a controlling stake in Associated British Ports has attracted interest from potential bidders including KKR, BlackRockâs Global Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, and Dubai-based port operator DP World. AB Ports is the largest port operator in the UK with 21 facilities in England, Scotland, and Wales, handling around 25% of the countryâs seaborne trade. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and OMERS are looking to sell their combined 64% stake in AB Ports, reportedly seeking about ÂŁ10B ($13.2B) in a deal.
Marshâs Mercer Raises $3.8 Billion for Private Investments | Crystal Tse and Swetha Gopinath | Bloomberg | Mercer has raised over $3.8B for private investments from wealth managers, endowments, insurers, and pension funds to invest in private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate. Secondaries and co-investments will be a major part of the fundâs strategy.
Blitzer-Backed Private Equity Firm Raises $400 Million for Sports Bets | Preeti Singh | Bloomberg | Sports-focused private equity firm 154 Partners, backed by Blackstone veteran David Blitzer, wrapped up fundraising for its debut fund with $400M.
đł Private Credit
Private credit funds record solid February despite redemption turmoil | John Schaffer | Citywire | US evergreen private credit funds achieved predominantly positive performance in February according to data from The Fund Review despite widespread redemption requests in credit evergreen funds. Of the 82 US evergreen credit funds in The Fund Reviewâs data base, 51 reported performance to the end of February, with 60% of the 51 funds generating a positive return over the month. Of the funds that posted a loss, only six were down more than 1%.
Bain Capital sees no bubble in private credit, software | Janelle Bradley | PitchBook | David Gross, Managing Partner at Bain Capital, said he does not believe private credit is a bubble and is unlikely to cause the next economic downturn. âI think there has been a bit of a search for the next bubble this last economic cycle because the economy has been so robust for so long. It surprised many of us,â Gross said in a recent interview with Barronâs.
Investors sought to pull $20bn from private credit funds in first quarter | Eric Platt | Financial Times | Wealthy investors attempted to pull more than $20B from private credit funds in the first quarter. $20.8B in redemption requests hit many of the largest firms in the space.
Blackstone Closes Flagship Opportunistic Credit Fund at Over $10B, Hitting Hard Cap | Blackstone | Blackstone announced the final close of Blackstone Capital Opportunities Fund V, with over $10B of investable capital. The fund was oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap.
Carlyle Caps Private Credit Redemptions After Investors Seek 16% | Olivia Fishlow and Allison McNeely | Bloomberg | A $7B private credit fund managed by Carlyle capped redemptions after investors asked to redeem 15.7% of the shares in the first quarter.
Dawson Plans New Credit Fund Months After $7.7 Billion Close | Preeti Singh and Allison McNeely | Bloomberg | Dawson Partners plans to hit the fundraising trail for its next flagship vehicle after the private credit manager closed a prior fund last October at $7.7B. Dawson also aims to raise capital through its evergreen fund, which will invest in secondaries and make primary fund investments.
Cerebras Backer Eclipse Raises $1.3 Billion for Robotics, AI Infrastructure | Natasha Mascarenhas and Edward Ludlow | Bloomberg | Venture Capital firm Eclipse has raised $1.3B to invest in startups working in physical industries such as AI infrastructure, manufacturing, and defense. The total includes $720 million for investments in early-stage startups and $591 million for later-stage deals, and is the firmâs largest to date.
đ Real Estate
Whitestone REIT to Be Acquired by Ares for $1.7 Billion | Ares | Whitestone REIT has been acquired by Ares in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.7B, which is a 12.2% premium to Whitestoneâs closing stock price on April 8, 2026. Whitestoneâs portfolio as of March 31, 2026 comprises 56 high-quality, convenience-focused retail properties totaling approximately 4.9M square feet in some of the countryâs fastest growing markets including Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio.
đĽ Secondaries
How private equity became hooked on second-hand deals | Alexandra Heal, Antoine Gara, Cleve Jones | Financial Times | Many of the industryâs largest alternative asset managers have looked to grow their secondaries exposure, acquiring many of the industryâs leading secondaries firms or building out the capabilities in-house.
An AI-sized bump in VC secondaries' rebound | Hannah Zhang | Secondaries Investor | AI-driven tech disruptions have raised questions over the sustainability of the recent pricing recovery in venture secondaries. Venture and growth secondaries fund stakes priced in the mid- to late-70% of NAV on average in 2024 and 2025, a significant increase from the roughly mid- to late-60%s pricing seen in 2023, according to year-end reports from Evercore and Jefferies.
đ ď¸ Infrastructure
CoreWeave Tapping Junk Debt Market After Meta AI Computing Deal | Gowri Gurumurthy and Gerson Freitas Jr. | Bloomberg | CoreWeave is selling $1.75B of high-yield notes and $3B of debt due in 2031 that is convertible into equity. The company has also struck a new deal to supply AI computing power to Meta through December 2032 for $21B.
Unlocking value in mid-market infrastructure | Abbie Sui and Aaron McGovern | IFM Investors | IFM Investors writes that mid-market infrastructure can offer diversification and higher returns, while retaining the defensive characteristics of infrastructure.
𼊠GP Stakes
Getting individual investors in on the GP stakes action | Nicholas Manderson and Amy Carroll | PEI | The profile of a GP stakes investment strategy can make for an attractive option for the wealth channel due to the combination of cash income, J-curve mitigation, and diversification in addition to PE-like returns.
M&A reshapes the GP stakes galaxy | Nicholas Neveling | PEI | Growing consolidation in the private equity industry means that there are more opportunities for exits in the GP stakes market.
đŹ Private Markets Research
2026 Credit Focus: Keeping Calm and Carrying On | Nayef Perry | Hamilton Lane | Private credit remains resilient despite geopolitical risk, AI disruption, and late-cycle uncertainty, with stress largely idiosyncratic and defaults contained.
European PE Breakdown | Nicolas Moura | PitchBook | PitchBook breaks down the strong momentum in European PE until the Iran conflict has impacted progress and interest in fundraising. Mid-market continues to demonstrate resilience even as fundraising remains muted.
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