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

This month the Alternative Investor’s guests takes a look at the rise of tokenisation and what it means in the alts space.

We look back at what was a more difficult month for hedge funds, with macro managers again on top.  There were further fundraises, the successful CVC IPO, concerns over US non-competes, legal spats, big brand AUM growth, new big-name hires, a few hedge problems and crypto interest.

With tokenisation gaining prominence and traction, we have asked some experts in this field to elaborate on what’s going on.

  • In ‘Springtime for Tokenization’, Bitwise’s Vincent Molino, discusses how organisations have turned their attention to building tokenised products
  • Daphne Huang looks at how DeFi has shaken up the financial landscape with new smart contract technology and the critical nature of data interpretation.
  • Eulith’s Lucas Gaylord examines some of the noise surrounding tokenisation and the need for a secondary market.
  • PwC’s Robert Mellor and James Stewart discuss the growth of retailisation and the role tokenisation has to play within it.

Turning to North America, Prosek’s Mark Kollar writes about the accelerated growth of private wealth channels, where the competition is “fierce,” and the importance of having a strong brand and offering differentiated products.

 

This month the Alternative Investor looks at the growing trend of “democratisation” in the alternatives industry.

We look back at another month of strong fund returns, with macro managers on top, and various fund raises. There is an upcoming sector IPO, which we are all watching closely, new legal cases, activist campaigns, founder shenanigans, potential comebacks and much more.

Sector democratisation…

  • Haynes Boone’s James Tinworth writes about how alts ‘democratisation’ or ‘retailisation’ is gaining traction and the increased interest in Europe.
  • PwC’s Mathieu Scodellaro and Jeremy Evans continue on this theme with a look at recent developments in the space.
  • Moving away from the legal side to organisational nuts and bolts, MUFG Investor Services COO, Mac Kirschner, writes about how firms are having to evolve their operations and businesses to enable this broader audience.
  • Fredriks Partners’ Max Heppleston wraps-up with what he is seeing on this trend and where/ how firms are hiring to fill the new roles.

This month, Prosek’s Mark Kollar’s Letter from America dives into the growing trend of NAV financing in the US, where managers are borrowing money based on the value of their portfolio, allowing them to raise capital when liquidity is low.

 

This month the Alternative Investor takes a look at the latest goings on in the world of ESG.

We also look back at exceptional February fund performances (better than January) and sizeable fund raises. There were also interesting partnerships, steps to develop private wealth and build private credit businesses, signs that multimanagers are getting even more aggressive in their expansion plans, a new commodities business, funds closing, crypto funds having a ball as Bitcoin hits new highs, and much more…

ESG

  • We get brilliant insight on ESG programs and practices of the ten largest private equity firms from Dhruti Patel, Jelmer Laks and Sabrina Katz at Blue Dot Capital.
  • Ocorian’s Paul Spendiff writes about the importance of ESG credentials and strategy behind fund managers’ investment decisions.
  • AIMA’s Thomas Sharpe looks at EU ESG developments, with the review of SFDR and ESG Ratings Regulation.
  • Simmons & Simmons’ Lucian Firth and Tristram Lawton follow a similar line, writing about rising UK-US ESG tensions as approaches increasingly diverge.

Prosek’s Mark Kollar’s Letter from America lifts the kimono on GP stake sales, a trend that has been gaining momentum in recent years and is seeing a “consolidation of sorts.” Mark writes that this will “continue to provide high-performing firms an opportunity to raise capital and build their brands.”

 

This month the Alternative Investor’s guests take a look at two areas: impact and crypto, and how they are being driven by positive change in their respective spaces.

We break down January hedge fund performance, with funds (generally) up and India the standout market. We saw investors continue to invest in the big brand private equity funds and moves by private equity and asset managers to acquire infrastructure assets. There are huge ‘mountains’ of dry powder waiting to be deployed, a noteworthy secondary market tailwind, stories on big hedge winners and losers in ‘23, some sizeable hedge launches, the disappearance of GLG, stuttering ESG fund flows and more…

Driven by change

  • Lendable’s Chris Wehbé writes about the drive to standardise impact terminology, which is creating a more homogeneous data environment, helping the growth of impact investing.
  • Aristata’s Rob Ryan looks at the emergence of impact litigation that has been a catalyst for social empowerment, fostering a more equitable legal landscape.
  • 3iQ’s Louis LaValle changes tack from impact to look at how the digital asset environment is undergoing a transformation that is heralding a new era of investment possibilities as institutions, regulators, and active finance get behind it.

Prosek’s Mark Kollar writes about the new-found attraction of infrastructure investing, with BlackRock acquiring GIP and General Atlantic buying Actis. This is a case of private equity firms and asset managers buying into hard assets. It is a big market, with infrastructure one of the fastest-growing sectors, which also produces steady cash flows.