The March 2024 edition of the Alternative Investor is out today with alternative fund news from the past month alongside guest features looking at ESG.
Alternative News
In this edition, we look back at some exceptional February fund performances (better than January) and some 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.
Letter from America
Prosek’s Mark Kollar, in 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 looks set to “continue to provide high-performing firms an opportunity to raise capital and build their brands.”
Regulatory Update
There was plenty going on in the regulatory space, with RQC unpacking some of the latest in the US, UK and EU. In the US, there was FinCEN’s new rule on beneficial ownership information reporting, the NFA listing regulatory obligation ‘common deficiencies’, the SEC expanding its definition of dealer, the SEC and CFTC adopting new amendments to enhance private fund reporting, and FinCEN proposing a rule to broaden the definition of “financial institution”. In the UK, the FCA outlined its new approach to enforcement, reported its operating service metrics and published Market Watch 77 on organised crime. While in the EU, the European Parliament approved the final AIFMD II text.
