AGM Alts & Wealth Weekly News Roundup | 2.27.26
The news of the week in private markets and wealth management
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AGM News Roundup
đŚ Wealth Management
LPL reveals partnership with enterprise AI giant Anthropic | Alec Rich | Citywire | LPL Financial revealed an âexpandedâ partnership with enterprise AI firm Anthropic on Tuesday. LPL noted that âOur focus is on technology that enhances advisorsâ expertise and strengthens client relationships through truly personalized advice.â
Fidelity hails rise of 'adjacency acquisitions' in banner M&A year: Report | Sam Bojarski | Citywire | An analysis of the RIA M&A market by Fidelity highlighted that firms are acquiring adjacent services businesses that might not directly add managed assets, including accounting, tax planning, and UHNW services.
Goldman Sachs building long-short SMA platform for RIAs: Sources | Ian Wenik | Citywire | Goldman Sachs is preparing a new platform for clients of its RIA custody division that will enable them to place assets into long-short SMAs from the likes of AQR Capital Management and Quantinno Capital Management.
đ˛ Evergreen Funds
How Semiliquid Managers Can Hide Fees | Jack Shannon | Morningstar | A recent report by Morningstar analyzes fees in evergreen funds.
Weinsteinâs Saba offers Blue Owl investors an exit ⌠for a price | John Schaffer | Citywire | Saba Capital has notified Blue Owl of its intent to purchase a portion of outstanding shares of Blue Owl Capital Corporation II (OBDC II) at a discount to NAV.
đ¸ Private Equity
Welcome to a New Era in Private Equity | Hugh MacArthur, Claudia Bianchi, Brian Kmet, and Brenda Rainey | Bain & Company | â12 is the new 5â (12% annual EBITDA growth required to generate a target 20% IRR / 2.5x MOIC over a 5-year holding period) says Bain & Company in the latest Global Private Equity Report.
OpenAI secures up to $110bn in record funding deal | George Hammond | Financial Times | OpenAI raised $110B in a new equity funding round that values the company at $730B. Nvidia, Amazon, and SoftBank all participated in the investment.
Blackstoneâs Gray Sees Tipping Point for Deals in Mideast | Dinesh Nair | Bloomberg | Blackstoneâs Jon Gray sees a âtipping pointâ for deals in the Middle East, as the firm has unveiled partnerships and ventures in the region, including a $3B partnership with Saudi artificial intelligence firm Humain and a $5B logistics venture with Abu Dhabi asset manager Lunate.
Private Equityâs Dry Spell Worse Than 2008 Crisis, Bain Says | Preeti Singh | Bloomberg | Private equityâs distributions as a percentage of net asset value remained at 14% last year, the second-lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis. Fundraising also faced headwinds, falling 16% to $395B, marking a fourth straight year of declining fundraising figures.
Victory Capital Affirms Fully Financed, Clearly Superior Proposal to Acquire Janus Henderson | Victory Capital | Victory Capital has entered the process to buy Janus Henderson, creating a competitive process with Trian and General Catalystâs bid to buy JHG. Victory Capital notes that its bid is approximately a 16% premium to Janus Hendersonâs currently contemplated transaction with Trian.
General Atlantic to Acquire Equity Stake in Banamex | General Atlantic | General Atlantic agreed to acquire an equity stake in Banamex from Citi, which is part of Citiâs broader divestiture of an aggregate 24% stake of Banamexâs outstanding common shares. The transaction represents General Atlanticâs largest growth equity investment in Mexico to date.
Carlyle Shares Gain After Schwartz Unveils Growth Targets | Allison McNeely | Bloomberg | Carlyle shares rose after it outlined a series of three-year growth targets. The firm stated it aims to raise $200B of capital and generate $1.9B of fee-related earnings and 6%-per-share distributable earnings by 2028. The board authorized a $2B share-repurchase program.
đł Private Credit
Private Creditâs Great Divide: Imminent Crisis or âNo Big Dealâ | Ellen DiMauro and Brian Chappatta | Bloomberg | Private credit is approaching a critical juncture where thereâs a difference in opinion on how investors view the current state of the private credit market. Some investors warn of an imminent crisis due to rising leverage and liquidity pressures.
After Misstep, Blue Owl Gets It Right, Unlike the Press | Stephen L. Nesbitt | Cliffwater | Cliffwaterâs CEO Stephen Nesbitt shares views on recent developments in private credit, writing: âWe find that Blue Owlâs problems are not investment-related but instead caused by its BDCâs obsolete structure. Now Blue Owl is doing the right, shareholder-friendly action by providing more liquidity to investors than itâs required quarterly redemption, telegraphing strength in private credit, rather than the âwarning signsâ the WSJ sees.
StepStone: âResilientâ direct lending market can survive default uptick | Danielle Levy | Alternative Credit Investor | StepStone expects defaults in the direct lending market to increase over the next few quarters, arguing that this is part of a normalization process and nothing to be concerned about.
đ Real Estate
Private Equity Ratchets Up Its Bet on London Office Refurbs | Olivia Rudgard | Bloomberg | Private equity firms, including Blackstone and Brookfield Asset Management, are putting money into refurbishing offices in London. The goal is to attract tenants who are willing to pay a premium for buildings with desirable characteristics.
Family Office Cash Drives New York Luxury Hotel Buying Spree | Daniel Cancel | Bloomberg | Gencom, a Miami-based real estate developer and operator, has bought two New York City luxury hotels in the past four months, with the deals funded largely by family offices.
Real Estate Investors Who Shunned San Francisco Are Rushing Back | John Gittelsohn | Bloomberg | The cityâs AI boom is setting off a race for building and developing new office towers.
đĽ Secondaries
Blackstone Strategic Partners leads on EQT's evergreen CV for EdgeConnex | Madeline Farman | Secondaries Investor | Blackstone Strategic Partners has agreed to anchor a ~$2B evergreen continuation vehicle being launched by EQT for EdgeConnex.
HarbourVestâs New Fund Signals Next Phase of the GP-Led Boom | Paul Elias | Mergers & Acquisitions | HarbourVestâs dedicated continuation vehicle strategy, $1.1B AUM Private Equity Continuation Solutions, highlights how managers are turning a focus to single-asset CVs.
CPP Investments will mull secondaries sales to 'trim older exposure' | Adam Le | Private Equity International | CPP Investments Global Head of PE Caitlin Gubbels told PEI that the pension giant aims to deploy C$20B into private equity this year.
AI Disruption Fears Prompt Scrutiny in Hot Private Markets Trade | Preeti Singh | Bloomberg | Buyers are demanding discounts of as much as 20% to take a piece of private equity firmsâ technology-heavy portfolios off their hands.
đ ď¸ Infrastructure
Brookfield Buys Chips-for-Rent Firm Ori, Revving Up Bet on AI | Dawn Lim | Bloomberg | Brookfield Asset Management bought cloud-computing firm Ori Industries to provide on-demand access to AI chips.
BlackRock Backs Dutch Chipmaker Axelera AI in $250 Million Round | Charlotte Hughes-Morgan | Bloomberg | Dutch chipmaker Axelera AI raised more than $250M from investors, including BlackRock, to make power-efficient semiconductors.
𼊠GP Stakes
Capital Constellation Forms Strategic Partnership with Gallatin Point Capital | Wafra | Capital Constellation, an investment platform managed by Wafra, announced the completion of a strategic partnership with Gallatin Point Capital, a private investment firm focused on structured investments in financial institutions, services, and related assets.
ORIX USAâs GP Solutions Group Completes $50MM NAV Loan with Leading GP Stakes Manager | ORIX | ORIX USAâs GP Solutions Group has closed a $50MM NAV-based credit facility with a leading GP Stakes manager focused on leading middle-market private investment firms. The NAV facility provides a flexible capital solution allowing the manager to fund a portion of the purchase price in a GP Stakes investment.
đŹ Private Markets Research
AI Hurtles Ahead | Howard Marks | Oaktree | Howard Marksâ latest memo discusses recent developments in AI and debates whether or not it is a bubble.
Why Private Equity? Why Now?: Reasons to Invest in Private Equity in 2026 | Alisa Amarosa Wood and David McNellis | KKR | KKR shares questions and perspectives on why private equity might be well-positioned in todayâs macro environment and why quality and manager selection matter.
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