This month, we examine the past month’s alternative news and our guest writers look back at the past year and ahead at 2025.

December delivered mixed results for hedge fund performance, with macro strategies emerging as the clear leaders. Key developments included Antin closing its latest fund at €10.2 billion, the largest infrastructure raise of the year, Carlyle securing $7.1 billion for its Opportunities Fund, Apollo preparing its largest-ever fund, and Blackstone advancing its latest life sciences initiative. Private equity firms have increasingly turned their focus to the NFL, recognising the value of its brands and cultural significance. The month was marked by strategic deals, consolidations, new fund launches, and partnerships, indicating that 2025 is set to continue this momentum and more.

January features

• Marex’s Chris Elliott examines the increasingly competitive hedge fund landscape, emphasising the importance of agility and responsiveness.
• AIMA’s Drew Nicol identifies 2025 as a transformative year for regulation, marked by significant shifts and opportunities.
• DIFC’s Salmaan Jaffery highlights Dubai and the DIFC’s commitment to establishing itself as a leading destination for alternative managers.
• PwC’s Christine Cairns focuses on family offices balancing growth and sustainability.
• Bitwise’s Vin Molino vividly addresses the challenges of managing a crypto bullfight in 2025.
• H Squared’s Max Heppleston predicts that hiring in 2025 will hinge on differentiation

In Letter from America, Prosek’s Mark Kollar outlines five key trends for 2025. Despite fundraising challenges, innovation drives growth, with investments in data centres, energy transition infrastructure, and sovereign wealth funds leading the way. The democratisation of private markets through wealth management and expanding institutional interest in sports, including collegiate teams, signal a dynamic year ahead for investors.

This month, RQC covers key regulatory developments, including UK updates on operational and third-party reporting, a new Consumer Composite Investments consultation, and the FCA’s crypto regulation discussion paper. In the US, the SEC charged an RIA with policy failures, multiple entities for late Form D filings, and a Federal court ordered a defendant to pay over $2 million in penalties for commodity pool fraud.

 

This month we examine the past month’s alternative news and our guest writers look at ways to build better funds for today’s environment.

October was a tricky month for hedge funds, with RV the only strategy in the green. There were some decent fundraisings in secondaries and in venture capital. Millennium has been prepping for the future, adding capital, looking at future partnerships, and even looking to launch its first new fund in three decades. Quarterly numbers show strong performances and significant inflows amongst the big brand PE players. We also are entering a new era of super deals with KKR/ ECP and Mubadala/ Seviora. The endowment alternative allocations have been underperforming US equities, while Preqin is forecasting a $30tn global alts world by 2030. And in the world of activism, Elliott is turning to a new tool, podcasting… Plus more. 

November features

• AIMA’s Tom Kehoe looks at the take-up and value of GenAI.

• Marex’s Lawrence Obertelli focuses on emerging managers and how they can best capture investor interest. 

• Centalis’ Jon Hanifan examines scaling a fund and the required changes. 

• MUFG Investor Services’ Daniel Trentacosta looks at the value of working with trusted partners to strengthen client services and technology.

• Kayenta’s Mark Toone writes on the evolution of treasury management from a support function to a core strategic element within a fund. 

In Letter from America, our friend Prosek’s Mark Kollar examines the change in attitudes – for the better – towards the world of private credit: “It’s probably a safe market bet that it won’t be a longer period of time to see the rhetoric around regulation and reporting for private credit to become even more accommodating…”

We wrap with our regulatory update from RQC, with the FCA winning the appeal against BlueCrest, the FCA fining the CEO of an FCA-authorised firm, the publication of Market Watch No 80, and key findings from the FCA’s culture and non-financial misconduct survey. In the US, RQC looks at the SEC’s Division of Examinations 2025 priorities and the enforcement roundup. 

 

Capricorn Fund Managers announces the launch of Capricorn Fund Managers (DIFC) Limited (‘CFMD’), becoming the DIFC’s first dedicated investment management regulatory hosting solution.

Through the platform, which is established as an Incorporated Cell Company (‘ICC’) regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (‘DFSA’), investment managers can operate under CFMD’s regulatory umbrella to run their funds from Dubai International Financial Centre (‘DIFC’). The platform is suitable for new and established investment managers across multiple strategies, including hedge funds, long only, real estate, private equity and venture capital.

Until now, investment managers operating in DIFC have required their own licence from the DFSA. CFMD adds a new option working closely with the DFSA and DIFC ensuring that each manager is fully compliant, with the right systems and controls in place. Today, DIFC houses more than 400 wealth and asset management firms, including more than 60 hedge funds, managing close to $700 billion.

CFMD is incorporated in the DIFC (Company Registration Number 9039) and is regulated by the DFSA for the provision of arranging deals in investments, advising on financial products, arranging custody, managing collective investment funds, managing assets and arranging credit and advising on credit.

“From a commercial perspective, Dubai has become the fastest-growing fund market, with enormous interest from managers and individuals,” said Craig Roberts, Senior Executive Officer. “By launching our regulatory hosting solution, we add a new and efficient service for managers to set up and carry out regulated activities – all under our licence.”

For Capricorn, the DFSA’s similar regulatory approach to the UK’s FCA is an important factor that has made this a relatively straightforward process. Capricorn’s UK platform is already well established, providing extensive experience and services across portfolio management and risk oversight?, operations, compliance and regulation.

Salmaan Jaffery, Chief Business Development Officer, DIFC, added: “Through Capricorn’s hosting solution, we are adding a new route for managers to get licensed and operational in Dubai. This is an exciting time for our fund management sector, which continues to go from strength to strength, and we have a long pipeline of managers looking at Dubai. A combination of our infrastructure, investors, strong regulatory regime, ambition and lifestyle opportunities makes Dubai a highly attractive fund hub.”

The advantage of taking the regulatory hosting route, includes:

• Cost Efficiency: Enabling investment managers to opportunistically scale operations as their business develops, reduces the day-to-day operating costs significantly by being hosted on the CFMD platform.
• Resource Efficient: By providing investment managers with expert investment and risk oversight, regulatory and compliance services, allows managers to focus on running their investment strategies.
• Access to Expertise: Managers benefit from the support of the CFMD team covering all aspects of their risk, regulatory and compliance requirements. In the ever-changing regulatory landscape, CFMD can proactively support managers.
• Immediate Credibility: CFM platform and processes have been through operational, risk and compliance due diligence from major institutions, providing hosted managers with immediate credibility in front of investors.

This month the Alternative Investor looks back at the first half of this year, reflect on what’s been driving the alternatives space and pick up changes in the regulatory environment with RQC Group.

We also include all our amazing guest features from the period, who have covered an enormous range of timely and relevant subjects, including tokenisation, commodities, insurance, ESG, impact investing, private market evolution, plus so much more.

This month the Alternative Investor includes insightful guest features on sector trends, offering you a fresh perspective on the alts industry.

We look back at fund performances and fundraising in PE, hedge funds and credit. Elliott has been very busy, not only raising funds but also taking sizeable positions; Ackman is lining up an IPO in 2025; funds are building commodity teams and crypto exposures; we pick up family office trends and much more. We also take a moment to look back at Jim Simons’ life, ‘An extraordinary life of a quant pioneer and philanthropist.’

• Arosa Capital Co-Founders Alexandra Daly and Peter Soliman write about gender inequality in venture capital funding, with funds dedicated to female entrepreneurs not just a nod towards social justice but a testament to the untapped potential that can drive significant economic growth and innovation.
• Prosek Partners’ Josh Clarkson changes tack with a look at the trend among large alternative managers to acquire and build life insurance components as they seek to generate uncorrelated outsized returns.

In Letter from America, Mark Kollar examines the rise of continuation funds as a standalone investment strategy. Should portfolio companies continue to be scalable with further potential upside, why not hold on to them a little longer to realize more value? Mark is starting to see sector specialists move more money into designated funds and believes there is further growth on the cards