Alt Goes Mainstream

What topic keeps coming up in my conversations with alternative asset managers? Where does private equity fit into pension schemes, particularly defined contribution plans? The discussion of private equity coming into pension plans is a timely one, particularly as evergreen funds continue their product innovation. This week saw two big announcements in the evergreen fund space: iCapital expanding its Model Portfolio suite to?launch its Growth Model Portfolio?and Fidelity International?announcing that they will integrate private markets assets via a Long-Term Asset Fund?(LTAF) into its ￡16.9B FutureWise default investment strategy for UK-based workplace pension schemes. Fidelity International’s Global Head of Platform Solutions Stuart Warner?captured?the significance of investing pension scheme assets into private markets in Fidelity’s statement: “For our DC members whose investment horizon is measured in decades not years, we believe there is strong alignment in the benefits of private markets investments and member objectives.” Decades, not years. A critical concept when it comes to understanding the power of private markets. Macro hedge fund investor Passport Capital Founder and Nimble Partners, LLC Founder John Burbank said as much in?his Alt Goes Mainstream podcast, noting that “duration is the most important thing an investor can have.” Taking a long-term view on holding an investment — or the power of patience — contributes to the ability to compound capital over a period of time. The key is finding the right construct in which to hold these assets. Regulatory hurdles, investor risks, and political challenges aside, retirement vehicles are, conceptually speaking, a good fit for private markets holdings. The inability to do anything other than go long duration can benefit investors. Read on for more about where and how private markets can fit into retirement accounts?? . This week's Alt Goes Mainstream's AGM Alts Weekly, brought to you by 73 Strings, covers: ??? AGM Index, an index that tracks the leading publicly traded alternative asset managers. ?? Post of the Week by Partners Group featuring Marc Meier & Melk Bucher, Ph.D. on why the mid-market for infrastructure secondaries is compelling. ??? AGM News of the Week, this week covering: ?? Preqin's Will Bennett-Lynch on why European LPs could be major allocators to unlisted infrastructure AUM by 2026. ?? Goldman Sachs' Nicole Pullen Ross, Meena Lakdawala-Flynn, DeDe Agar, Vivian Fraga Spies, CFA on the future of sports investing and the institutionalization of sports as an investment opportunity. ?? Who is hiring: Senior-level positions from companies Blackstone, Apollo Global Management, Inc., iCapital, Northern Trust, Blue Owl Capital, Ultimus Fund Solutions, Arcesium. Subscribe?? to see the latest trends & navigate this rapidly changing landscape as alts go mainstream. https://lnkd.in/eJ8ccx-x

Are technological changes in financial services evolutionary or revolutionary? Hear perspectives on evolutionary and revolut-ionary innovations in financial services and private markets from Balderton Capital General Partner Rana Yared, who has invested in and / or worked with the likes of fintech giants Revolut, Tradeweb, iCapital. Listen to the full episode with Rana on Alt Goes Mainstream here: https://lnkd.in/e7EXWQa5

Can European companies become massive without having to go outside of Europe? Hear Balderton Capital General Partner Rana Yared discuss the opportunity in European venture, particularly in fintech, where giants have been built. Listen to the full podcast on Alt Goes Mainstream: https://lnkd.in/e7EXWQa5

Once upon a time,?Michael Sidgmore and I?sat next to each other in a place called Peterborough Court. ?A few weeks ago, he invited me to join him on his award winning podcast Alt Goes Mainstream?for this conversation on the future of fintech and why Europe is a great place to invest. ?Thank you Michael

Can European companies become massive without having to go outside of Europe? Today, we have a special podcast with someone who has a unique view on what it takes to build companies of consequence in both the U.S. and Europe. We are joined by Balderton Capital General Partner Rana Yared. Rana was a Partner at Goldman Sachs, where she worked for 14 years and invested in some of the industry's most consequential capital markets businesses, like Tradeweb, LCH, iCapital, Vestwell and more. She left Goldman to join Balderton Capital, which has invested in the likes of Revolut, Writer, GoCardless, Darktrace, and many more. I've known Rana for my entire career and was lucky enough to be able to work with her at Goldman, so it comes as no surprise that she shared such unique and thoughtful insights on venture, fintech, and private markets. She's an incredibly sharp thinker and insanely smart, so it's fitting that industry titan Tradeweb asked her to rejoin the Board as an Independent Director after she moved from Goldman to Balderton. We had a fascinating conversation. We discussed: * Revolutionary and evolutionary innovations in financial services and private markets, including the likes of iCapital, Tradeweb, Revolut. * Why global tech companies can be built in Europe, with Revolut, a Balderton Capital portfolio company, as an example. * Why London and Europe are compelling fintech and financial services ecosystems. * How LPs should look at the European investment opportunity. * Differences and benefits / drawbacks of being a strategic / permanent capital investor versus being an independent VC fund. * The importance of being a risk manager in venture. Thanks Rana for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to share your wisdom and expertise on fintech, venture, and private markets. Thanks Ultimus Fund Solutions for sponsoring this episode of the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. https://lnkd.in/e7EXWQa5

Being in the middle can be hard. Just ask any middle child. As private markets mature, the gap between the haves and the have-nots appears to be widening. In this week's newsletter, we explore what life is like for the middle child of private equity, the middle-market alternative asset manager, and how they can survive in a world of scale and small. Partners Group's CEO Dave Layton's prediction from 2023 about private markets "entering a new phase of maturation and consolidation," where we could witness "the current 11,000 or so industry participants shrink to as few as 100 next-generation platforms that matter over the next decade,” looms large over the industry. Layton rightly observed that "there is a real bifurcation between the managers that can raise money and those that cannot. This will accelerate the process of natural selection as the industry grows in size.” But there are tactics for the middle-market manager to survive in an industry where "natural selection" may reign supreme. Finding "riches in niches," developing strategic partnerships, and honing in on the right LP customers can be critical for alternative asset managers in this new world. Read on for more ?? . This week's Alt Goes Mainstream's AGM Alts Weekly, brought to you by 73 Strings, covers: ??? AGM Index, an index that tracks the leading publicly traded alternative asset managers. ?? Post of the Week by Blackstone's Global Head of Private Wealth Solutions Joan Solotar on Global Co-Head of Real Estate Kathleen McCarthy Baldwin on the growth of demand and investment opportunity in data centers. ??? AGM News of the Week, this week covering: ?? PitchBook's Madeline Shi on Stonepeak's acquisition of Boundary Street Capital and what it means in the context of data center investing. ?? Bloomberg's Irene García Pérez on Apollo Global Management, Inc.'s investment in Vega (Alexis Augier) and what it means for the development of software and infrastructure for alternative asset managers to enhance the client experience for wealth channel investors. ?? Who is hiring: Senior-level positions from companies Blackstone, Apollo Global Management, Inc., iCapital, The Carlyle Group, Northern Trust, Blue Owl Capital, Ultimus Fund Solutions, Hamilton Lane, Arcesium. Subscribe?? to see the latest trends & navigate this rapidly changing landscape as alts go mainstream. https://lnkd.in/emTXEsrN

What's the evolving role of the product specialist in private markets and private credit? Hear Churchill Asset Management's ($50B committed capital) Managing Director, Senior Investment Strategist, and Co-Head of the Chicago Office Alona Gornick discuss private credit, permanent capital, and the power of the product specialist on the latest Alt Goes Mainstream podcast. Alona and I had a fascinating discussion. We covered: * The evolution of credit investing. * The opportunities and risks in private credit. * Are we in a private credit bubble? * Why the product specialist role is critical for working with the wealth channel. * The power of scale, particularly in private credit, and how it helps alternative asset managers win deals and invest. * The strategic benefit of platforms and permanent capital. Thanks Alona for sharing your thoughts and wisdom on private markets. Special thanks to Ultimus Fund Solutions for supporting this episode of Alt Goes Mainstream. https://lnkd.in/em5CBbhb

What are the pros and cons of the different types of evergreen structures? Hear from evergreen pioneer StepStone Group's StepStone Private Wealth CEO Bob Long on the vary evergreen structures. Listen to the entire "What's Your Edge" episode on Alt Goes Mainstream here: https://lnkd.in/egP3Ppdn

Alt Goes Mainstream founder Michael Sidgmore joins Citywire editor Selin Bucak to discuss recent developments in private markets’ private wealth push. ?Selin Bucak #privatemarkets #video #citywireswitzerland https://lnkd.in/din34MYS

Should private markets look more like public markets? In this Citywire interview with the supremely knowledgeable Selin Bucak, we discuss the different angles of the private markets wealth push. Where should private markets and public markets intersect? I think it should intersect more in the execution and infrastructure than it should in trying to fit a "square peg in a round hole." "I'd almost want this space to think about looking more like public markets in the execution, where there's the ability to press a 'buy button' and then alternatives are a piece of a portfolio than have it look more like public markets from a product perspective where you're trying to combine private-public products, which I also think will happen." Listen to the entire interview on Citywire, link below. Alt Goes Mainstream https://lnkd.in/exKH3y3V