AGM Alts Weekly | 3.8.26: Taking a step back
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Good evening from Washington, D.C.
There’s a lot going on in the world right now and there’s also a lot going on in private markets right now.
This week, Bloomberg Invest convened industry leaders across private and public markets for conversations that touched on many of the themes that are top of mind for asset managers and allocators.
A number of key themes continually came up in the conversations on stage.
Many of those themes and trends, which impact both public and private markets, are inextricably linked.
Geopolitics is shaping how and where investors allocate capital. Megatrends like AI, decarbonization, digitalization, and deregulation are driving how and where capital formation occurs. The asset management industry is undergoing a wave of consolidation and collaboration as capital formation trends evolve and scale becomes a differentiating feature for investment platforms. Investors and allocators, including some of the world’s largest allocators, such as Temasek, are faced with difficult questions of asset allocation. The question of illiquidity premium comes to the forefront of allocators’ decision-making.
The industry’s leaders discussed these trends and how they are playing the game on the field today.
Let’s dive in to connect the dots on some of the trends and forces that were discussed, which are shaping private markets and private wealth.
Geopolitics
Geopolitics was on everyone’s mind. And for good reason. Many macro forces are converging to cause varying levels of market disruption.
$340B asset owner Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay noted that geopolitics is now at the forefront of investors’ decision-making calculus. Ten years ago, that wasn’t the case, he noted.
Between “geopolitics, geoeconomics and its impact on the US dollar, technology disruption,” Pillay said he believes that “this is the most trying time to be a long-term investor.” What is the cycle and how long does it last, he asked.
But when asked by Bloomberg’s Lisa Abramowicz whether or not the market has been too sanguine about the impact of geopolitics, Pillay replied that the market’s reaction has been muted.
Apollo CEO Marc Rowan also characterized the current state of play in geopolitics as “disruptive.” He said:
“If you look at the numbers, things are great. Everyone has a job, capital spending is off the charts, and very conducive to future employment. Government policy is very accommodative. Capital markets are wide open. That’s normally 95% of what you need to worry about. Now, as we’ve been saying, it’s only 70% of what you need to worry about. The other 30% is geopolitics, it’s government borrowing, it’s excesses in capital markets, and technological change.”
It appears that the current geopolitical landscape is “disruptive,” but not yet debilitating.
Instability could become worse if oil prices rise. Marathon Asset Management Founder, Chairman, and CEO Bruce Richards said in a conversation with Bloomberg’s Matt Miller that oil at $120 a barrel could trigger a recession. But he too noted that the economy, for now, is doing pretty well. He also commented that the “e-shaped economy,” where the middle line in the “e” is a big cohort of consumers that is contributing to the current economy. He also called the “middle class of companies” a “big” portion of the economy.
Pillay made an interesting point about how Temasek has decided to play the game on the field. He posited that liquidity has a premium in a market that has more frequent shocks and quicker cycles. He said that Temasek has made sure to have enough liquidity to pivot into certain investments in a given market cycle.
Pillay’s comment about whether or not there’s an illiquidity premium in today’s market gives rise to another question: where are investors generating a premium?
For his part, Pillay, whose organization is around 50% allocated to illiquid investments, said he believes “there’s a premium in being liquid today.”
Blackstone’s Global Head of Private Credit Strategies Brad Marshall noted in a panel moderated by Bloomberg’s Dani Burger that “some investors are subscribing because they believe in the return premium you can get in private credit right now” while also acknowledging that there have been elevated redemptions in evergreen credit vehicles.
Marshall’s comments bring us to another topic that captured a meaningful portion of the mindshare in the conversations at Bloomberg Invest: private credit.
Private credit
Private credit has been in the news a lot as of late. It was certainly top of mind in the conversations on stage.
While private credit is becoming an increasingly larger part of the fixed income universe (and of investors’ portfolios), it’s worth putting private credit’s market size in context of the broader fixed income market.
Private credit is roughly $2T of a $140-150T global fixed income market, as KKR’s Co-CEO Scott Nuttall observed. And, he also noted that in a stress scenario, everything else, not just private credit, would be in even more trouble.
There are also nuances within the private credit market, as Apollo Co-President John Zito noted in a panel with State Street Asset Management CEO Yie-Hsin Hung and Bloomberg’s Lisa Abramowicz.
Zito made the point that there’s a difference between sub-investment grade and investment grade credit. Apollo has done a number of multi-billion dollar transactions in IG credit, with the likes of Air France, Intel, and others. Zito also noted that “long duration type capital is [required] to match working with large companies in private investment grade credit.”
Zito did say that there could be a “tough 12-18 months ahead,” but there will also be a clear dispersion of winners and losers. He noted that consumer confidence is in the early innings of slowing down, but balanced out that perspective by noting that the current environment is a different backdrop than 2008. Blackstone’s Global Head of Private Credit Strategies Brad Marshall shared a similar perspective, saying that they are “seeing good credit fundamentals.”
Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Global Co-Head of Private Credit Vivek Bantwal noted in a panel moderated by Bloomberg’s Dani Burger that “fundamentals right now are still strong.” He pointed to the fact that “earnings are growing, gross margins are improving, free cashflow is being generated, and leverage is coming down.” He shared that the default rate in private credit currently stands at 1.3%, the same figure as the default rate in public credit.
The private credit market is not monolithic. A comment by Brookfield Asset Management’s CEO Connor Teskey highlighted that sentiment. He noted in a panel moderated by Bloomberg’s Katie Greifeld that private credit in “most components of the private credit market are in good shape,” observing that “real asset lending, asset-backed lending, seems robust. Demand is outweighing supply. Credit spreads are strong. Covenant quality stays high.”
Teskey noted that direct lending is experiencing more challenges, but also said that it’s only “a small subsegment of broader credit markets.”
Teskey was not the only asset management executive who did not appear overly concerned about private credit at this juncture.
Apollo CEO Marc Rowan said that he “doesn’t worry about credit right now.” He describes an environment where “companies are in good shape, consumers are in good shape.” It’s governments that aren’t in good shape, he posited.
Ares CEO Mike Arougheti provided the audience with a perspective of zooming out. He turned back the clock to the financial crisis, when private credit portfolios hit 8-10% one-year default rates.
BlackRock Chairman of Private Financing Solutions Executive Office and HPS Investment Partners CEO Scott Kapnick said that banks are healthy and that the capex cycle has put the economy in good shape. He staked the claim for the need for private credit to fill the gap that governments can no longer occupy. Private capital is required to finance a lot of megatrends, he noted. He also made an important observation about the distinction between defaults and losses. “What matters in credit is not defaults, it’s losses,” he said. This period of private credit could very well be defined by which firms not only underwrite best, but also those that have the ability to manage companies that go through defaults and prevent losses.
A recent Goldman Sachs white paper on the European credit landscape highlights a number of points that Kapnick and other speakers shared.
Goldman’s paper highlighted that in 2021, European credit had more credit events than the past few years (up to 2023). That finding aligns with a point that KKR’s Co-CEO Scott Nuttall made: “we are starting to see the decisions people made over the last 5-10 years,” noting that the “industry periodically overdeploys. That’s what happened 2021,” he shared. Note that he was very likely referring to private equity rather than private credit, but his point holds. Investors should be thoughtful and careful in each vintage and be disciplined in their deployment pacing.
As the chart below from Goldman’s paper highlights, underwriting decisions made in 2021 are now coming home to roost.
Private credit markets have nuance, as a number of speakers noted. The chart below from Goldman’s paper highlights that very point.
Large cap and upper mid-market companies represented the smallest portion of credit events in Europe. Small cap companies accounted for over half of recent credit events, as the chart below illustrates.
This chart can infer another point that many of the executives made on stage: scale matters.
Apollo’s Zito highlighted that scale matters, particularly in large IG transactions with multi-hundred billion dollar companies.
Ares’ Arougheti shared a similar sentiment. He noted that “scale gives you advantages.”
Blackrock’s Scott Kapnick echoed that sentiment, noting that companies want to work with partners that have scale, can deal with complexity, are reliable, and have the capital.
Kapnick also noted that LPs want to work with scaled players that can bundle different private markets solutions and exposures into a portfolio that makes sense. Arougheti made a similar point, sharing that LPs want to allocate more dollars to fewer managers (which is something Ares has seen firsthand).
The topic of scale provides a segue into another theme: asset management consolidation.
Asset management consolidation
A number of executives discussed the consolidation occurring in asset management.
The advantages of scale in origination, underwriting, investing, and fundraising are defining today’s asset management market structure.
Arougheti, who has discussed consolidation as of late, talked about the opportunity to acquire high-quality monoline managers.
KKR Co-CEO Scott Nuttall discussed the firm’s recent acquisition of Arctos Partners with Bloomberg’s Dani Burger. Nuttall said that a mega merger between two very large firms is very hard, in large part due to culture. “It comes down to people,” he noted. He does believe that “the big will get bigger,” and that more likely acquisitions or mergers will be scaled firms acquiring specialist managers or a few specialist managers coming together to build a diversified platform.
Rowan shared another dimension of scale that’s worth noting. Staying true to his belief that origination is the key advantage in alternative asset management, Rowan said that the firm can “only grow as fast as we can originate good risk.” Growing too fast commoditizes the business because it forces firms to deploy, he noted.
Scale and consolidation might very well lead to a “K-shaped industry,” as a number of executives noted.
Nuttall said that a “K-shaped industry” could materialize in private markets, with a bunch of winners and then a set of firms that don’t perform and have more lessons to learn. Arougheti also echoed a similar sentiment, noting that the large will get larger and niche, alpha-generating managers will thrive, but that the middle will have a lot to prove.
A common thread that the winners will share?
Thoughtful underwriting and disciplined pricing on investments. That’s something Stonepeak Co-President Luke Taylor mentioned when discussing how to invest into infrastructure assets across cycles, noting that it’s “all about entry price … and investors have to be disciplined about pricing in these markets.”
KKR’s Nuttall said the same thing in a different way, sharing that firms should be disciplined about underwriting and pacing of deployment. He said they’ve learned from experience that linear deployment is a prudent way to invest and avoid getting caught up in the moment of the cycle.
Apollo’s Zito characterized this as “being diversified, being senior, and being income oriented.”
Another area where asset managers can be disciplined? Education.
Investor education
Virtually every speaker highlighted the importance of investor education, particularly as it related to evergreen vehicles.
Clearlake Co-Founder and Managing Partner Jose Feliciano said that “The need to educate and communicate very clearly to individual investors” is critical as the industry looks to serve the wealth channel. He said he thinks private markets products “do belong in a diversified portfolio,” but asset managers have to be very careful as they work with the wealth channel.
Both Brookfield’s Teskey and Invesco President and CEO Andrew Schlossberg discussed the importance of education on their panel. Teskey noted that they aren’t changing what they invest in or how they invest in it, rather these investments are being packed and structured differently for a different investor channel.
Teskey’s comment brings up an important point that Apollo’s Zito touched on. Zito noted that many of these investment products that are now in evergreen funds have historically been built for closed-end, drawdown funds. They are not in quarterly liquid (to some extent) vehicles. Zito noted the importance of “having first principles with how you treat investors,” saying it’s critical to “treat existing clients as fairly as possible in the moment, but also acknowledging that we don’t know what the next quarter might look like.”
Zito’s comments bring up an important nuance in evergreen products. Evergreens can harbor an asset-liability mismatch, as ICG Advisors shared in a recent white paper titled “The Great Disappointment.”
There can be a difficult balancing act with evergreen structures. When the market appears stressed or when there is a crisis of confidence, investors might look to redeem to generate liquidity. That moment in time could also very well be the moment that might be the time to deploy capital, but the evergreen fund might be forced to deal with declining NAV and redemptions rather than raising more capital and deploying into attractively priced investment opportunities.
As ICG wrote, “Managers may be forced to sell at uneconomic prices when they should be buying, turning what should have been an opportunity into a disadvantage.”
There are a few prudent ways to deal with this issue.
One is to educate investors as to what they are signing up for. Many in the industry would advocate for removing the term “semi-liquid” from the lexicon. As a number of people in the industry have noted, many focus on the “liquid” part of the word “semi-liquid,” rather than the fact that these vehicles are inherently not meant to be very liquid.
A number of speakers noted that the industry has focused on educating the wealth channel on the features of these vehicles. That must continue.
Another way to deal with this issue is to be disciplined in capital raising when it comes to evergreens. Over-raising does no favors to investors if dollars cannot be deployed into good assets at good prices.
There are also firms that are equipped to handle the functions from pre- to post-investment that are required to manage an evergreen fund well. Only a certain number of firms have the scale and capability to originate enough assets for evergreen funds of a certain size and scale.
Evergreens, in many respects, were constructed to solve problems of access and efficiency for wealth channel investors. They offer both access and operational efficiency for private markets exposure which wealth channel investors have otherwise not historically enjoyed. And, with 85-90% of companies with $100M in revenue or greater across the US, Europe, and Asia residing in private markets, that’s broadly speaking, a good thing in terms of providing investors with access to private markets. But evergreens must be managed well in order for investors to have a good experience with private markets.
Taking a step back
There was a theme threaded throughout many of the conversations on stage at Bloomberg Invest.
Executives weren’t dismissing concerns of geopolitics and volatility. In fact, many noted that it’s a challenging time to invest.
But they also zoomed out to share perspective that rings true about private markets.
KKR’s Nuttall noted that they think in “10-15 year increments.” Yes, there’s volatility, but “volatility creates opportunity,” he said. He also noted that periods of volatility tend to coincide with attractive vintage years for private equity.
Apollo’s Zito acknowledged the need to think long term from another perspective. The AI boom requires nearly $4T of new money that’s “super long duration” to fund this tech cycle and platform shift.
BlackRock and HPS’ Kapnick reminded us that “every disruption is different.” He also noted that private capital is required to finance these megatrends.
Temasek’s Pillay said that this “is the most trying time to be a long-term investor,” but also noted that both the Mag 7 and deep tech could compound for a long time, so investors must see through the fog and continue to allocate to innovation and megatrends.
It is by no means an easy time to invest or allocate capital for the long-term. These comments from executives at Bloomberg Invest remind us that it can be helpful to zoom out and take a step back to read beyond the headlines and unpack the nuance.
AGM Index
AGM has created an Index to track the leading publicly traded alternative asset managers.
Some of the industry’s largest alternative asset managers are publicly traded — and their net inflows can serve as a window into how private markets are being perceived by investors and allocators who are allocating capital into alternative investments.
Note: AUM figures are based on fee-paying AUM where applicable.
Who is hiring?
In order for alts to continue to go mainstream, we need the best talent to go into the space. Here are some openings at private markets firms. If you’d like to connect with any of these teams, let me know, and I’m happy to facilitate an introduction if appropriate. If you’re a company or fund in private markets, feel free to reach out to share a job description you’d like to be listed here to highlight for the Alt Goes Mainstream community.
🔍 Blackstone (Alternative asset manager) - Blackstone Private Wealth - Product Specialist, Vice President (Real Assets). Click here to learn more.
🔍 KKR (Alternative asset manager) - Head of Americas Wealth IR Servicing. Click here to learn more.
🔍 Apollo Global Management (Alternative asset manager) - Registered Funds Compliance Officer - Global Wealth. Click here to learn more.
🔍 EQT Group (Alternative asset manager) - Head of Social Media. Click here to learn more.
🔍 Blue Owl (Alternative asset manager) - Private Wealth Regional and Independent Broker Dealer – Senior Market Leader, Vice President/Principal. Click here to learn more.
🔍 Franklin Templeton (Asset manager) - Portfolio Manager, Private Markets. Click here to learn more.
🔍 Goldman Sachs Alternatives (Alternative asset manager) - Asset & Wealth Management, Client Solutions Group, Wealth Alternatives Specialist, New York - Vice President. Click here to learn more.
🔍 HarbourVest (Alternative asset manager) - Vice President, Wealth Program Manage. Click here to learn more.
🔍 iCapital (Private markets infrastructure investment platform) - Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Canada - Senior Vice President. Click here to learn more.
🔍 Ultimus Fund Solutions (Fund administrator) - Managing Director, Fund Accounting. Click here to learn more.
🔍 Krilogy (Wealth manager) - Senior Wealth Advisor. Click here to learn more.
🔍 MSCI (Data services) - Content Writer - Private Assets. Click here to learn more.
🤝 Interested in learning more about AGM RIA Field Trips? 🤝
Read about the expansion of Alt Goes Mainstream, with the launch of the AGM Community and AGM Events.
We’ve also built out the AGM Community RIA Advisory Board, an experienced, thoughtful, and intellectually curious group of private wealth management and private markets executives and operators, to help shape the direction of AGM Community.
The latest on Alt Goes Mainstream
Recent podcast or video episodes and blog posts on Alt Goes Mainstream:
🎥 Watch Stable Asset Management’s Founder & CEO Erik Serrano Berntsen discuss the evolution of the GP seeding market and what it takes to build a great alternative asset management firm. Watch here.
🎥 Watch MSCI’s Head of Private Assets Luke Flemmer discuss the evolution in private markets market structure and how standardization, normalization, and transparency of data will transform private markets. Watch here.
🎥 Watch AGM Unscripted at the Goldman Sachs Alternatives Summit with Partners Matt Gibson (here), James Reynolds (here), Kristin Olson (here), Harold Hope (here), Michael Bruun (here), and Jeff Fine (here).
🎥 Watch Lexington Partners’ Partner Taylor Robinson share details about the evolution of the secondaries market and why secondaries are in the spotlight. Watch here.
📝 Read The AGM Q&A with Blue Owl Senior MD and CEO of Global Private Wealth Sean Connor on how they are serving the wealth channel in 2026 and beyond. Read here.
🎥 Watch Ultimus Fund Solutions’ CEO Gary Tenkman discuss how Ultimus is helping to build core fund administration infrastructure that powering the evergreen evolution and is helping to make private markets go mainstream. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Goldman Sachs’ Partner and Global Head of Private Wealth Management Capital Markets and Global Head of Goldman Sachs Apex Family Office Coverage Sara Naison-Tarajano discuss how Goldman Sachs has built its Apex Family Office Coverage group to serve UHNW families and family offices. Watch here.
📝 Read about the expansion of Alt Goes Mainstream, with the announcement of AGM Community, the creation of the AGM Community RIA Advisory Board, and why we believe that the industry should have small, curated events and community-building efforts. Read here.
🎥 Watch Stonepeak’s MD and CEO of SP+ INFRA Cyrus Gentry discuss the why and the how of bringing infrastructure investing to the wealth channel. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Blue Owl’s Senior MD and President & CEO of Global Private Wealth Sean Connor discuss the firm’s focus on the wealth channel and how the firm is a growth company in a growth industry that is investing in megatrends. Watch here.
🎥 Watch the latest Alts Pulse with iCapital Chairman & CEO Lawrence Calcano where we go global and discuss Lawrence’s recent trip to Asia to peer into the nuances of the different wealth management markets around the globe. Watch here.
🎥 Listen and watch EQT’s Chairperson EQT Asia and Head of Private Capital Asia Jean Eric Salata share reflections on leadership, culture, and values from one of the world’s largest investment firms. Listen here and Watch here.
🎥 Listen and watch EQT’s Founder and Chairperson Conni Jonsson discuss how EQT has built a global private equity firm the Nordic way. Listen here and Watch here.
🎥 Watch Vista Equity Partners’ President and COO David Breach discuss how Vista has built a software investing powerhouse in the age of AI. Watch here.
🎥 Watch ING’s Anneka Treon, Global Head of Private Banking, Wealth Management & Investments, and Johan Kloeze, Head of Private Banking & Wealth Management NL, ING, share lessons learned from building a private markets platform for private wealth clients. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Oaktree Capital Management’s Co-CEO and Head of Performing Credit Armen Panossian share why investors shouldn’t “have to reach for risk to generate the right return.” Watch here.
🎥 Watch Franklin Templeton’s COO - Global Wealth Management Alternatives George Stephan discuss the evolution of Franklin Templeton’s Alternatives business and how the firm has brought public and private together. Watch here.
🎥 Watch iAlta Holdings’ Founding Partner Bill Crager discuss the evolution of wealthtech from building Envestnet as Co-Founder and CEO to why today is a “transformational moment” in wealth management. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Vista Equity Partners’ Founder, Chairman, and CEO Robert F. Smith discuss who will benefit from AI and how he built a $100B enterprise software scaled specialist firm. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Nomura Capital Management’s CEO Robert Stark discuss how they have built a private credit firm within a global bank. Watch here.
📝 Read The AGM Op-Ed with Blue Owl Senior MD and Head of Digital Infrastructure Matt A’Hearn on building the backbone of the digital economy. Read here.
🎥 Watch PGIM’s Global Head of Alternative Investments Dominick Carlino discuss the evolution of distributing alternative investments to the wealth channel. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Blue Owl’s Senior MD and Head of Digital Infrastructure Matt A’Hearn share why he believes there’s a generational opportunity in financing digital infrastructure. Watch here.
🎬 Watch AGM Originals The DNA - Season 1 with conversations with EQT’s Conni Jonsson, Jean Salata, Lennart Blecher, Geraldine O’Keeffe, Peter Beske Nielsen, Peter Aliprantis, Hari Gopalakrishnan, William Vettorato, and Ken Wong about the firm’s DNA and its different investing capabilities. Watch here.
🎥 Watch PGIM’s Head of Multi-Asset and Quantitative Solutions Phil Waldeck discuss the intersection of insurance and asset management. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Stonepeak Chairman, Co-Founder, CEO Mike Dorrell share his story as a pioneer in infrastructure investing. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Hg Partner and Head of Value Creation Chris Kindt discuss AI’s transformative role in value creation for private equity. Watch here.
🎥 In Permira Part 2, watch Permira Co-Chairmen & Co-CEOs Brian Ruder and Dipan Patel discuss how the collaborative leadership model in action has helped the firm scale to an €80B alternative asset manager. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Evercore ISI’s Senior MD & Senior Research Analyst Glenn Schorr and me unpack the past few months in private markets on the latest episode of Going Public. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Permira Co-Chairman & Co-CEO Dipan Patel discuss how to scale an €80B alternative asset manager. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor cover the most pressing topics in private markets today, including the convergence of public and private, liquidity vs illiquidity, investor education, the importance of transparency, and the why, what, and how behind evergreen funds. Watch here.
🎥 Watch The Compound and Friends (TCAF) Co-Hosts and Ritholtz Wealth Management Partners Downtown Josh Brown and Michael Batnick and I go back and forth about private markets on TCAF Episode 207. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Stonepeak Co-President Luke Taylor discuss what it takes to be a great infrastructure investor. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Arcesium MD and Head of Client and Partner Development David Nable discuss how to architect private markets technology infrastructure for the future. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Juniper Square CEO and Co-Founder Alex Robinson on balancing AI with the human element in fund administration. Watch here.
📝 Read the latest AGM Op-Ed — “Retail and the City #2” with former Pantheon Partner Susan Long McAndrews on five takeaways from the Executive Order that could see private assets in 401(k) plans. Read here.
🎥 Watch Hg Senior Partner and Executive Chairman Nic Humphries discuss how Hg has grown into a $100B scaled specialist and how one of the industry’s leading private equity technology and services investors is “navigating investing at an inflection point in history.” Watch here.
🎥 Watch EQT Partner, Head of Private Wealth Americas Peter Aliprantis live from Miami on how EQT is bringing global local. Watch here.
📝 Read The AGM Op-Ed with Arcesium SVP, Business Development - Private Markets Jean Robert on why asset managers need to rethink reporting as a strategic advantage. Read here.
🎥 Watch SageSpring Private Wealth CEO Winston Justice share how he went from protecting star quarterbacks as an NFL tackle to protecting families’ wealth. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Blue Owl Co-President and Global Head of Real Assets Marc Zahr share the story of how he built Oak Street from $17M in AUM in 2009 to what is now Blue Owl’s $67.1B AUM Real Assets business in a live Alt Goes Mainstream podcast at Future Proof Citywide. Watch here.
📝 Read The AGM Op-Ed with former Pantheon Partner Susan Long McAndrews on why everything we need to know might be in Sacramento (where CalPERS is located). Read here.
🎥 Watch Hg’s Partner and Head of Hg Wealth Martina Sanow discuss how Hg has unlocked opportunities for the wealth channel to invest in Europe’s largest portfolio of software and services businesses. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Goldman Sachs’ Partner and Global Co-Head of the Petershill Group at Goldman Sachs Robert Hamilton Kelly discuss the evolution of the GP stakes industry and how Goldman has become a market leading GP stakes investor. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Blue Owl’s MD, Head of Alternative Credit Ivan Zinn unpack private credit and why ABF has become a prominent part of the private credit ecosystem. Watch here.
📝 Read The AGM Op-Ed with Blue Owl Head of Alternative Credit Ivan Zinn on why “asset-based finance today mirrors the evolution of corporate direct lending from over a decade ago.” Read here.
🎥 Watch Lincoln Financial’s EVP and CIO Jayson Bronchetti discuss the role of insurance companies in private markets as he discusses how he manages a portfolio of $300B in assets. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Krilogy’s Partner and CIO John McArthur discuss how an RIA can chart a growth path by building out its private markets capabilities. Watch here.
🎥 Watch New Mountain Capital’s Founder & Chief Executive Officer Steve Klinsky discuss how $55B AUM New Mountain has built a business that builds businesses. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Arcesium’s Private Markets Head Cesar Estrada discuss data silos and technology integrations in private markets. Watch here.
🎥 Watch GeoWealth President & COO Jack Hannah and iCapital SVP, Partnerships Michael Doniger discuss the ground-breaking BlackRock, iCapital, and GeoWealth unified managed account partnership live from iCapital Connect. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Goldman Sachs’ Managing Director, Global Head of Alternatives, Third Party Wealth Kyle Kniffen discuss how they are “standing on the shoulders of Goldman Sachs to be a complete partner” for the wealth channel. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Fortress Investment Group Managing Director & Co-Head of Private Wealth Solutions Adam Bobker discuss how Fortress has built a wealth solutions business from a whiteboard, leaning on the firm’s pioneering history of innovation. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Constellation Wealth Capital President & Managing Partner Karl Heckenberg on why there will be a $1T independent wealth management firm. Watch here.
🎥 Watch BlackRock Managing Director, Co-Head of US Wealth Business, Senior Sponsor for Retirement Business Jaime Magyera and iCapital Chairman & CEO Lawrence Calcano discuss the ground-breaking BlackRock, iCapital, and GeoWealth unified managed account partnership live from iCapital Connect. Watch here.
🎥 Watch EQT Partner & Head of Private Wealth Americas Peter Aliprantis discuss how the firm is bringing EQT’s success to the US wealth market. Watch here.
🎥 Watch KKR Partner & Co-CEO of KKR Private Equity Conglomerate LLC (K-PEC) Alisa Wood discuss how the firm has innovated in private markets, why KKR came up with the Conglomerate structure, and how evergreens can play a role in investors’ portfolios. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Cantilever Group’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner Todd Owens in a live podcast from BTG Pactual’s NYC office share why GP stakes can be the best of all worlds. Watch here.
📝 Read The AGM Op-Ed with Arcesium Private Markets Head Cesar Estrada on the rise of asset-based finance and why it’s the next growth engine for private credit. Read here.
🎥 Watch BlackRock’s Head of the Americas Client Business Joe DeVico, Head of Product for US Wealth & Head of Alts to Wealth Jon Diorio, and Partners Group's Co-Head of Private Wealth Rob Collins discuss their landmark private markets model portfolio partnership that could be the industry’s “iPhone Moment.” Watch here.
🎥 Watch Brookfield Oaktree Wealth Solutions CEO John Sweeney discuss how to build a high-performing wealth solutions team and why the word “solutions” matters when working with the wealth channel. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Cerity Partners’ Partner & Chief Client Officer Tom Cohn and Partner Amita Schultes talk about how and why they have combined a leading OCIO with a $100B AUM wealth management practice. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Marc Lipschultz, Co-CEO of Blue Owl, talk about how they have aimed to skate where the puck is going as Blue Owl has grown its AUM to $265B in nine years. Watch here.
📝 Read The AGM Q&A with Blue Owl Co-CEO Marc Lipschultz, where he highlights some of the trends that have propelled alternative asset management into the mainstream: scale, a focus on private credit, and a focus on private wealth. Read here.
🎙 Listen to Stephanie Drescher, Partner & Chief Client & Product Development Officer of Apollo, discuss what is safe and what is risky as she dives into both the convergence between public and private and the nuances of asset allocation. Listen here.
🎥 Watch Mike Tiedemann, CEO of $72B AUM AlTi Global share why being a global wealth manager can be a differentiator. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Joan Solotar, Global Head of Private Wealth Solutions at Blackstone share why it’s not even early innings, but that it’s “spring training” for private markets adoption by the wealth channel. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Venkat Subramaniam, Co-Founder of DealsPlus on building a single source of truth for private markets. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Yann Magnan, Co-Founder & CEO of 73 Strings discuss the opportunity for AI to automate private markets. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Hamilton Lane Managing Director, Co-Head US Private Wealth Solutions Stephanie Davis and iCapital Co-Founder & Managing Partner Nick Veronis discuss the evolution of evergreen funds on the third episode of the Investing with an Evergreen Lens Series. Watch here.
🎥 Watch KKR Managing Director, Head of Americas, Global Wealth Solutions (GWS) Doug Krupa and iCapital Co-Founder & Managing Partner Nick Veronis discuss the evolution of evergreen funds on the second episode of the Investing with an Evergreen Lens Series. Watch here.
🎥 Watch Vista Equity Partners Managing Director, Global Head of Private Wealth Solutions Dan Parant and iCapital Co-Founder & Managing Partner Nick Veronis discuss the evolution of evergreen funds on the first episode of the Investing with an Evergreen Lens Series. Watch here.
📝 Read about a year in the book of alts — a compilation of the 1,000+ pages written in weekly newsletters on Alt Goes Mainstream in 2024. Read here.
📝 Read about the launch of the AGM Studio, a collaboration between Alt Goes Mainstream and Broadhaven Ventures to incubate, invest in, and help scale companies and funds in private markets. Read here.
🎙 Hear Balderton Capital General Partner and former Goldman Sachs Partner Rana Yared discuss why Europe can build global companies out of the region. Listen here.
🎥 Watch Stepstone Private Wealth CEO Bob Long discuss StepStone Private Wealth’s edge and nuances with their evergreen structures in the first episode of “What’s Your Edge.” Watch here.
🎥 Watch Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Cantilever Group and former Goldman Sachs and Broadhaven Capital Partners Partner Todd Owens discuss the middle market opportunity in GP stakes investing. Watch here.
🎙 Hear me discuss why and how alts are going mainstream on The Compound’s Animal Spirits podcast with Ritholtz Wealth’s Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson. Listen here.
🎙 Hear Manulife’s Global Head of Private Markets Anne Valentine Andrews share how to approach building a private markets investment platform at an industry behemoth and the merits of infrastructure investing. Listen here.
🎥 Watch Lawrence Calcano, Chairman & CEO at iCapital, on the AGM podcast discuss driving efficiency across the entire value chain to transform private markets. Watch here.
🎙 Hear VC legend New Enterprise Associates’ Chairman Emeritus and Former Managing General Partner Peter Barris discuss how he transitioned from operator to VC and transformed NEA into a venture juggernaut in the process. Listen here.
🎙 Hear Blue Owl’s Global Private Wealth President & CEO Sean Connor share insights and lessons learned from working with the wealth channel. Listen here.
📝 Read about the evolution of GP stakes, why alternative asset management business models are better than SaaS, and our partnership with Todd Owens and David Ballard at Cantilever, a mid-market GP stakes firm anchored by BTG Pactual. Read here.
🎙 Hear how Chris Long, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Palmer Square Capital Management has built a $29B credit investment firm and a winning NWSL soccer franchise, the KC Current. Listen here.
🎙 Hear stories from building market-defining companies Blackstone, Airbnb, and private markets from Laurence Tosi, former CFO of Blackstone and Airbnb and Managing Partner & Founder of $7.6B investment firm WestCap. Listen here.
🎙 Hear Chris Ailman, the CIO of $307B CalSTRS, discuss how he manages a portfolio with ~40% exposure to private markets. Listen here.
🎙 Hear Blackstone CTO John Stecher discuss how technology is transforming private markets. Listen here.
🎙 Hear investing legends John Burbank and Ken Wallace of Nimble Partners provide a masterclass on investing with both a macro and VC lens. Listen here.
🎙 Hear Robert Picard, Head of Alternatives at $117B AUM Hightower, discusses how they approach alternative investments. Listen here.
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If you have any suggestions, would like me to feature an article, research, or would like to recommend a guest or topic for the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast, reach out! I’d love to include it in my next post or on a future podcast.
Special thanks to Izzy Morin, Ryan McCormack, Nick Owens, Michael Rutter for their contributions to the AGM Index section of the newsletter.