AGM Alts & Wealth Weekly News Roundup | 10.3.25
The news of the week in private markets and wealth management
đ Hi, Iâm 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 â the AGM Alts Weekly â 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.
âWhen it comes to the intersection of alternative investments and wealth management, Michael just gets it.â CIO, $18B AUM RIA.
âThis is our primary resource for learning and reading about alts.â Head of Marketing, $250B AUM alternative asset manager.
âIf you want timely and informative insights on everything private markets, Michael Sidgmore and Alt Goes Mainstream weekly update and podcast are fantastic resources.â CIO, $47B AUM RIA.
âThe only email I never delete when clearing my inbox.â 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
đŚ Wealth Management
Aviva steers more pension savings into private markets | Patrick Hosking | The Times | Aviva, a big player in managing UK employersâ pension schemes, said it was launching a new âdefaultâ option, âMy Future Vision,â which will allocate an initial 25% of an employeeâs pension pot to private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate.
Ares Management to buy minority stake in $40bn EP Wealth | Ian Wenik | Citywire | Ares Management, one of the worldâs largest alternative asset managers, has agreed to take a minority equity stake in $40B AUM RIA and Torrance, California-based EP Wealth Advisors.
After a Trump Order, Private-Markets Managers Blackstone and Ares Get Set to Woo Small Investors | Bill Alpert | Barronâs | Blackstone and Ares told Wall Street equity analysts last week how they are planning to approach the next phase of wealth channel distribution, with Morgan Stanleyâs Michael Cyprys noting in his report on a conversation with Blackstone CFO Michael Chae that âthis is going to be a year of product innovation.â
LSE Opens Up New Private Stock Market to Retail Investors | Meg Short | Bloomberg | The London Stock Exchange has partnered with UK equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube to open up late-stage private companies to thousands of eligible retail investors on its PISCES exchange.
đ˛ Evergreen Funds
Morgan Stanleyâs Dennis Says Private Market Evergreens in Demand | Meg Short | Bloomberg | Morgan Stanleyâs Global Head of Client Coverage Elizabeth Dennis said that evergreen funds are in high demand from investors opting to invest in private markets.
Nuveen, StepStone launch funds on private assets platform Crowd Street | Tania Mitra | Citywire | Crowd Street, an investment platform that offers direct investments and private markets funds directly to individual investors, has partnered with Nuveen and StepStone to offer funds on their platform.
Hamilton Lane launches evergreen venture capital fund | John Schaffer | Citywire | Hamilton Lane has launched an evergreen fund, Global Venture Capital and Growth Fund, focused on venture capital and growth investments that will be made available to investors globally.
Big private equity groups risk harming sectorâs standing, warns Neuberger Berman | Alexandra Heal | Financial Times | Neuberger Bermanâs Head of Alternative Investments Tony Tutrone said that managers that offer evergreen funds âneed to be disciplined and not take money if theyâre getting too much money and they donât have the dealflow.â
đ¸ Private Equity
âCrazy, Right?â: More PE Funds Than McDonaldâs Signals Pressure | Sridhar Natarajan and Allison McNeely | Bloomberg | Is private markets too saturated? âThere are 19,000 private equity funds in the US. There are 14,000 McDonaldâs in the US. How are there more private equity funds than McDonaldâs? Thatâs actually crazy, right?â KKR Partner Alisa Wood said Wednesday at Bloombergâs Women, Money and Power event in London. âCapital coming back is really important. The mark-to-market paper gains only take you so far.â
Texas Municipal: LPs should ârecalibrateâ private markets returns expectations | Katrina Lau | Private Equity International | TMRS CIO Yup Kim said that private markets investments could take âtwice as much effortâ to generate the returns seen over the past 15 years.
Video games maker Electronic Arts strikes $55bn deal to go private | Oliver Barnes, Antoine Gara and Tim Bradshaw | Financial Times | Video games maker Electronic Arts is being taken private by a Saudi-backed consortium assembled by Jared Kushner and Silver Lake in a $55B deal that ranks as the largest ever leveraged buyout.
đł Private Credit
Private Credit Gears Up for Biggest Year in Emerging Markets | Selcuk Gokoluk | Bloomberg | Emerging markets deals in private credit are on track for its biggest year on record, with the first half of 2025 seeing $11.7B deployed, already hitting 2024âs full year total, according to the Global Private Capital Association.
Private Credit Could Amplify Shock in Next Crisis, Fitch Says | Rene Ismail | Bloomberg | Private credit has exhibited attributes that could make it prone to a âbubble,â including financial innovation, heightened competition, growing retail participation, and rising leverage, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.
KKR prepares for private credit boom in Japan | David Keohane | Financial Times | A long-awaited rise in interest rates and a number of corporate governance reforms have made Japan a major global target for private credit funds, according to Diane Raposio, who oversees KKRâs Credit and Capital Markets business in Asia.
CVC raises âŹ10.4 billion for its European direct lending strategy | CVC | CVC Credit, the global credit management business of CVC, has closed on âŹ10.4 billion for its fourth European Direct Lending fund.
đ Real Estate
Private Capital Fundraising For CRE On Track For 38% YOY Jump | Sasha Jones | Bisnow | Private real estate funds are on track to raise $129B in 2025, a 38% increase from 2024, driven by renewed market stability and growing confidence from institutional investors.
Blackstone Adds âŹ2 Billion French Deal to Vast Warehouse Bet | Jack Sidders | Bloomberg | Blackstone has agreed to acquire a âŹ2 billion ($2.3 billion) portfolio of warehouses in France, doubling down on its biggest bet within European real estate, buying the portfolio from Proudreed, one of Franceâs largest private logistics real estate owners.
đĽ Secondaries
Why Japanâs $74bn university endowment is leaning into secondaries | Alex Lynn | PEI | Japan Science and Technology Agency sees an opportunity for private market secondaries, noting that tariff-related liquidity pressures could work in favor of the asset class.
Apollo Trading Private Assets in Secondary Market, Tsitoura Says | Meg Short | Bloomberg | Apollo has been trading âbillions of capitalâ in the secondary market, with its private assets priced to perfection and still delivering a premium, according to Natalia Tsitoura, the firmâs Europe Head of Private Debt Origination.
Side Letter: GIC on CVs | PEI Staff | PEI | While opinions on continuation vehicles remain largely mixed, Ankur Meattle, GICâs head of Asia private equity funds and co-investments, is âcautiously optimisticâ, noting that growing standardization in the space is a step in the right direction.
đ ď¸ Infrastructure
Brookfield Predicts AI Growth Needs $7 Trillion of Capital | Silas Brown, Heather Harris and Francesca Veronesi | Bloomberg | Brookfield Asset Managementâs CFO Hadley Peer Marshall estimates thereâs ~$7T of investment needed to finance the growth of AI.
Brookfield Raises $4 Billion for Infrastructure Debt Fund | Ellen Schneider and Kat Hidalgo | Bloomberg | Brookfield Asset Management raised over $4B for an initial close of its fourth infrastructure debt fund, which has been seeking to raise at least $7B to invest in junior and senior infrastructure debt.
BlackRockâs GIP nears $38bn takeover of utility AES | Oliver Barnes, Antoine Gara and James Fontanella-Khan | Financial Times | BlackRockâs Global Infrastructure Partners is nearing a $38B deal to buy utilities group AES, which would be one of the largest infrastructure takeovers of all time.
𼊠GP Stakes
Thoma Bravo Announces Strategic Minority Investment in SDC Capital Partners | PR Newswire | Thoma Bravo, a software investment firm with $181B AUM, announced a strategic minority investment in SDC Capital Partners, a leading global digital infrastructure investment firm. Thoma Bravo will fund the transaction from its balance sheet.
GP Stakes, Co-Investments Rise as LPs Seek Deeper Partnerships | Matt Toledo | Chief Investment Officer | Institutional investors are seeking a more hands-on approach with their private markets investments and are looking to find ways to deepen partnerships with their managers, including taking stakes in their firms.
đŹ Private Markets Research
Todayâs private credit opportunity | Sandra Lawson, Amanda Lynam | BlackRock | BlackRockâs latest private credit report dives into why private credit is expanding, in large part due to trends such as firms staying private longer, public markets shifting, and bank lending undergoing an evolution.
Tracking Private Equity: Closing the Performance Gap | Peter Shepard | MSCI | MSCI shares analysis on private equityâs performance.
