The Fill: May 2024
A letter from our CEO
The number of public companies in the United States has almost halved since its peak in late 1997, according to The Center for Research in Security Prices at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Meanwhile, as McKinsey shares in its 2024 Global Private Markets Review, private markets assets under management have grown nearly 20% per annum since 2018, reaching $13.1 trillion in 2023.
There are several factors driving this trend, including the increased access private companies have to equity and debt capital and the regulatory burden placed on public companies. And neither of those trends is likely to change. Private capital resources continue to grow, and the regulatory environment has shown no sign of reducing burdens.?
More than ever, access to private markets is critical to portfolio construction. Private markets strategies such as private equity, private credit, secondaries and co-investments insulate portfolios from public market risk and volatility, while providing investors with access to enhanced returns.
Historically, accessing private markets has been challenging for individual investors. At FS Investments, we have long been committed to democratizing private market access, and following our combination with Portfolio Advisors last year, we are even better positioned today to bring innovative private market solutions to the wealth management channel. Together, we are seeing compelling opportunities across private equity and private credit following two years of muted deal flow. M&A activity is picking up in the private markets, and in the first quarter, investors saw an uptick in private credit deal activity, primarily led by refinancing activity. Deal flow is expected to increase further in Q2 as we expect to see an uptick in leveraged buyout activity.
We expect that our diversified platform and flexible capital solutions will continue to make us a valued partner to our clients, investors and sponsors. We are in a great position to capitalize on opportunities in the private markets thanks to our best-in-class investment teams and partners. We hope you and your clients join us in seizing these compelling opportunities.?
I wish you a successful rest of the second quarter and hope you enjoy the beginning of the summer.
—?Michael Forman, Chairman + CEO
Get filled in on...
Alternatives education: Private?equity
Explore the opportunity of investing in private companies with our new educational resource for private equity. Get up to speed on PE fundamentals or take your client conversations across the finish line with “Know your alternatives,” our in-depth tool for alternatives?education.
Embrace alternatives or potentially be left?behind
According to new estimates, the number of wealthy individuals invested in alternatives is expected to triple by the year 2027. In his latest strategy note , Chief Market Strategist?Troy?Gayeski ?examines why and what this projected growth may mean for allocators and advisors.
The Middle Ground: Balancing fear, greed and returns with Middle Market?PE
We believe the U.S. middle market will continue to offer private equity investors a more attractive opportunity set versus the large and mega cap market. Read why in a new article from Client Portfolio Manager?Daniel?Wilk ?and Research Associate?Madison?Murphy .
Listen to the Market Minute?podcast
Start your Monday with the new Market Minute podcast . Hear a full recap on the latest in equities, fixed income, commodities and macroeconomics—all in less time than it takes to finish your coffee. Then read the Market Minute report for complete charts, expert analysis and more.
Head to Head podcast: Michelle?Marquez
Michelle Marquez (Managing Director at Marquez Private Wealth Management of Raymond James) joins the Head to Head podcast to discuss how she built an authentic personal brand, her inspiring work with children’s charities and the unique challenge of advising professional athletes.
FS Investments in the media
Lara Rhame on FireSide podcast: Answering the burning questions around private debt—Part 1
Private debt is a $1.6 trillion market that’s critical to our economy and to investors—and it’s rapidly evolving. On a new episode of the FireSide podcast , we examine the fundamentals of this asset class, the trends that have fueled its growth and why now may be a good time to consider investing in private debt.
Troy A. Gayeski on Forbes.com—The Good, The Bad and The Ugly for 2024
A Dare to Dream macro scenario may be the consensus base case for now, but where is the economy headed next? Chief Market Strategist Troy Gayeski outlines the three most likely market outcomes and their potential implications for key strategies in his new article for the Forbes Finance Council.
Fulfilling acts
Liz Campbell speaks at the Women in Private Markets Summit
Liz Campbell , Portfolio Advisors CIO and Managing Director, joined a panel of industry-leading women to offer insights on fundraising for emerging managers in challenging markets, strategies for long-term success and thought-provoking case studies from the previous year.
FS Investments, Portfolio Advisors + Filling in the Blanks
Fighting childhood hunger, one meal at a time. FS Investments and Portfolio Advisors partnered with Filling in the Blanks to support their Weekend Meal Program. Volunteers packed nearly 1,500 meal bags to help keep students in Connecticut fed.
FS Investments + ACHIEVEability
FS Investments proudly sponsored ACHIEVEability’s first-ever Impact Day , joining over 500 corporate and community volunteers to help rejuvenate West Philadelphia. Colleagues assisted in opening three community gardens in the neighborhood and planting seeds, vegetable sprouts and fruit trees.
Awards + recognition
Expanding our senior leadership team
We’re thrilled to announce three new additions to the FS Investments Executive Committee. Lisa Opoku has joined the firm as Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Tisdalle has joined as Chief Marketing Officer and Kevin Silva has joined as Global Head of Institutional Business Development. Welcome, Lisa, Stephen and Kevin!
Dan Ruggieri: 40 Under 40
Congratulations to Dan Ruggieri (Managing Director, Corporate Strategy) on being named to the Philadelphia Business Journal's 40 Under 40 list for 2024. The Journal’s list recognizes the region’s up-and-coming leaders.
Weekly fill’er up
The FireSide podcast: Tap into unconventional perspectives from our very own thought leaders and research experts.
Chart of the week: A collection of charts published each week using economic data to address timely market topics.
Market minute: Start receiving a weekly analysis from our Investment Research team.
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An investment in any fund sponsored by FS Investments involves a high degree of risk and may be considered speculative. Investors are advised to consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the applicable fund carefully before investing. For funds offering shares to new investors, the applicable fund’s prospectus contains this and other information. Investors may obtain a copy of the applicable fund’s prospectus free of charge at www.fsinvestments.com or by phone at?877-628-8575?for FS interval funds and closed-end funds or?877-924-4766?for FS mutual funds. Investors should read and carefully consider all information found in the applicable fund’s prospectus and other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before investing.
This is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein.?An offering is made only by a prospectus, which must be made available to you in connection with any offering.?No offering is made to New York investors except by a prospectus filed with the Department of Law of the State of New York.
Individual investors and endowments may have different investment horizons, liquidity needs and risk tolerances. In addition, fees that may be incurred by an investor in any of the funds sponsored by FS Investments may be different than fees incurred by an endowment investing in similar assets as those in which the funds invest.
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