AGM Alts & Wealth Weekly News Roundup | 9.19.25
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
Robinhood Plans to Launch Private-Company Fund for Retail | Paige Smith | Bloomberg | Robinhood is launching Robinhood Ventures, a closed-end fund to provide US individual investors exposure to private companies.
Creative Planning in talks to acquire $238bn SageView: Sources | Ian Wenik | Citywire | Creative Planning is in advanced talks to acquire $238.5B retirement plan manager SageView Advisory Group from private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners.
🌲 Evergreen Funds
PGIM, Partners Group Join Forces in Private Markets Push | Steve Dickson and Jack Sidders | Bloomberg | PGIM announced a tie-up with Partners Group that will offer portfolios mixing public and private investments.
EQT launches PE evergreen ELTIF | Emily Lai | PitchBook | EQT has launched a new European evergreen PE long-term investment fund, EQT Nexus ELTIF Private Equity Fund.
💸 Private Equity
CVC Capital Partners and Apollo leading $19B PE surge in sports | Andrea Gaini | PitchBook | CVC launched the $14B Global Sport Group, the largest sports fund in PE history, which followed news of Apollo launching its own $5B sports investment vehicle.
Fed’s quarter-point cut ignites optimism in PE dealmaking | Madeline Shi | PitchBook | Some M&A advisors see continued easing as something that could spur on more deal activity.
💳 Private Credit
Blackstone Sees Tight Credit Spreads Fueling Private Debt Boom | James Crombie | Bloomberg | Blackstone’s Credit and Insurance Group CIO Michael Zawadzki sees “excess spread in private credit,” remarking on the latest Bloomberg Intelligence Credit Edge podcast that thin corporate bond spreads are pushing investors to private markets.
Apollo Says Bank Tie-Ups Crucial for High-Grade Private Credit | Francine Lacqua and Francesca Veronesi | Bloomberg | Private credit’s effort to finance investment-grade companies is going to come down to its partnerships with banks, according to Apollo President Jim Zelter.
Private Credit Firms Eye Public Companies as Their Next Target | Ellen Schneider and Olivia Fishlow | Bloomberg | Private credit firms are focusing on large public companies that want to diversify their funding mix, offering fast and flexible financing as public companies have been increasingly comfortable taking private debt.
The niche debt tool at the heart of Apollo’s private credit machine | Lee Harris | Financial Times | Apollo is leveraging funding agreement-backed notes (FABNs) as a way to raise insurance capital.
🏠 Real Estate
Brookfield in talks to buy US landlord from Singapore’s GIC in $10bn deal | Julie Steinberg, Antoine Gara and Oliver Barnes | Financial Times | Brookfield Asset Management is in talks to acquire a US landlord of manufactured homes, Yes! Communities, from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC for more than $10B, making this one of the largest property transactions since 2022.
🥈 Secondaries
Ardian, with $30bn war chest, emerges as buyer of large portfolio shopped by APG | Chris Witkowsky and Madeleine Farman | Secondaries Investor | Ardian is the buyer of a $3B portfolio from Dutch pension administrator APG Asset Management.
HabourVest secures $865m for latest infra secondaries raise | Silas Sloan | Secondaries Investor | HarbourVest raised $865M for its infrastructure secondaries fund, doubling the size of its 2019 fund that was $456M.
🛠️ Infrastructure
ICG Raises €3.15 Billion for Second European Infrastructure Fund | Swetha Gopinath | Bloomberg | ICG has raised its second European infrastructure fund, adding €3.15B in capital and surpassing its initial fundraising target of €2B.
Blackstone invests nearly $1B in Hill Top, supporting data center backbone | Janelle Bradley | PitchBook | Blackstone agreed to acquire US power plant Hill Top Energy Center from Ardian for nearly $1B.
Saudi Arabia eyes private equity capital for data center buildouts | Madeline Shi | PitchBook | Saudi Arabia is reportedly exploring partnerships with private capital firms, including Blackstone and BlackRock, to fund its data center expansion.
🥩 GP Stakes
Blackstone Mulls Tactic to Unleash Cash From Bets on Its Peers | Preeti Singh and Dawn Lim | Bloomberg | Blackstone is considering a strip sale of assets from its 2014 GP Stakes fund, which includes investments in Leonard Green & Partners and PAG.
Korea's NPS acquires minority stake in Sweden's Areim | Charlotte D’Souza | PERE | South Korea's National Pension Service has made its first GP stakes investment, taking a minority stake in Areim a Stockholm-based real estate manager.
🔬 Private Markets Research
Lending league tables: Q2 2025 | Jordan Rubio | PitchBook | The Q2 2025 PitchBook lending league tables rank the most active private equity lenders based on confirmed transaction sizes, expanding their coverage to include European companies and a broader range of agent roles.
