2025 Rewind: Hits, Misses and What’s Ahead

The January Alternative Investor is out — and it’s all about what really changed after a year of upheaval.

We look back at 2025 and ahead to 2026, alongside Prosek Partners’ Letter from America, CAIA Association’s Insight, and an exclusive The Money Maze Podcast interview with Cathie Wood.

This issue explores the forces reshaping alternative investments as the industry enters a more selective phase, from regulation and private markets to digital assets and hedge fund strategy:

  • Jack Inglis (AIMA) argues that 2025 marked a regulatory turning point for hedge funds, with strong performance and constructive policy engagement setting the stage for a more pragmatic, risk-focused agenda in 2026.
  • Daniel Trentacosta (MUFG Investor Services) explains why operational excellence is becoming a decisive edge as private markets grow more complex and semi-liquid.
  • Salmaan Jaffery (DIFC) examines how DIFC’s rapid rise reflects a structural shift in global hedge fund strategy and capital flows.
  • Vin Molino (Crypto Insights Group) explains how crypto’s move beyond speculation is laying the foundations for institutional-grade adoption and alpha.
  • Jonida Vesiu (CSC) outlines why the democratisation of private markets will reward only those managers able to scale responsibly.
  • Amy Cheung (Marex) highlights how global allocators are converging on diversification through liquid alternatives and uncorrelated strategies, aligning portfolios with long-horizon themes
  • Max Heppleston (H-Squared) assesses why 2026 will favour hedge funds that genuinely hedge as volatility and allocator scrutiny intensify.

This month’s Money Maze Podcast interview with ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood frames today’s technological disruption as an inflexion point not seen since the industrial breakthroughs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In CAIA’s Insight, Georgina Tzanetos argues that alternatives have reached saturation — where discipline, transparency and risk control matter more than ever.

In Letter from America, Prosek Partners’ Mark Kollar explores how the hunt for new capital is pulling insurance balance sheets into focus.

We wrap up with our regulatory update from RQC Group.

Click here