Private Equity Spotlight

Subscribe to the new Private Debt Investor Podcast wherever you like to listen, or click here: https://www.privatedebtinvestor.com/podcast PEI Group publication Private Debt Investor recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, and now it's launching its own podcast! To kick it off, PDI is taking a six-part look back with its Decade of Private Debt podcast miniseries, speaking with some of the industry's leading figures about the challenges, triumphs and the evolving dynamics that have defined the world of private credit over the past 10 years. In the first episode, cross-published here on Spotlight, Ares CEO Mike Arougheti looks back at a decade of strategic growth in private credit, emphasising the importance of enduring relationships and the misunderstood, yet resilient nature of the market. To get the rest of the six-part miniseries right now, and continue getting market-leading insight into the world of private credit afterwards, search and subscribe to the Private Debt Investor Podcast wherever you like to listen, or click here. And be sure to also check out our Decade of Private Debt special report at privatedebtinvestor.com.

This episode is sponsored by Arcus Infrastructure Partners and Meridiam That the world is on the path to climate catastrophe, and that urgent action is needed to reverse it, is widely agreed upon. Yet, a sudden weakening of resolve at the political level has been evident in 2023, with some European governments delaying or diluting their previous climate policy commitments amid challenges like the cost-of-living crisis and geopolitical tensions. In the United States, ESG has even become part of the ideological battle between Republicans and Democrats. In this episode of Spotlight, Neil Krawitz, partner and head of ESG and asset management at Arcus Infrastructure Partners, and Matthieu Muzumdar, partner and deputy chief executive officer at Meridiam, tell Infrastructure Investor’s Helen Lewer that despite this challenging backdrop, infrastructure capital remains steadfast in its commitment to investing sustainably. They share their thoughts on where the opportunities are for the sector to play its part in creating a greener and more socially equitable future.

This episode is sponsored by Withum Artificial intelligence has become far more than just a buzzword in the realm of finance and accounting. In this episode of Spotlight, we explore the latest advancements and challenges that AI brings to the sector, as well as how fund managers and service providers are leveraging it to push boundaries while staying mindful of the risks. Joining us is Colleen Fay, a seasoned tax partner at Withum with over two decades of experience in accounting and a keen focus on the alternative investment industry. She shares her views on how AI is reshaping productivity, accuracy and strategic decision-making in finance, while also addressing critical concerns around regulatory compliance and cybersecurity risks.

In this episode of Second Thoughts, our bi-monthly take on the biggest trends and developments in secondaries, Ardian's co-head of secondaries and primaries Vladimir Colas makes a bold prediction for the secondaries market: the first private equity fundraise to breach the $30 billion mark will be a secondaries vehicle. LP portfolios being brought to market are only growing in size, and if they could, sellers would be offloading even larger portfolios. However, secondaries activity is still constrained by the amount of capital available to deploy into these transactions. Colas sat down with senior reporter Madeleine Farman to discuss how large the secondaries market could become in the near future, as well as how many new entrants Ardian expects to break into the secondaries market in 2024 and beyond.

The Private Equity International team delves into the findings of PEI’s annual survey of institutional investors to gauge how LP sentiment toward the asset class is evolving. Download the full LP Perspectives 2024 Study here.

Explore the challenges and disruptions in the direct lending market, the importance of experience in navigating red flags, the future of banks in private debt, and the need for consistency and defining strategies in the private debt market.

Jeff Hammer, global co-head of secondaries at Manulife Investment Management, discusses issues from moral hazard in continuation funds to the ethics of stapled deals with senior editor Adam Le.

How has the private equity industry evolved this year amid a sustained rising interest rate and inflationary environment, fierce competition for LP capital and the increasing democratisation of the asset class? Dechert partner Chris Field sits down with Private Equity International senior editor Adam Le to discuss the results of the law firm's 2024 Global Private Equity Outlook, which examines this very question.

In this fifth and final episode of season two of the Disruption Matters special miniseries, we explore the complex relationships in private equity, emphasising the crucial role of clear communication among all stakeholders from general partners to employees. We discuss the alignment of long-term goals in acquisitions and address limited partners' concerns about debt and liquidity in unstable markets. The overarching message is that success hinges not just on financial metrics or strategies, but on effective communication. Guests include: Kyle Nelson, a partner and managing director at AlixPartners; David Tayeh, head of private equity in North America for Investcorp; Joncarlo Mark, founder of Upwelling Capital Group and a former senior portfolio manager at CalPERS; Jonathan Pressnell, a partner at BluePoint Capital Partners; and Richard de Silva, founder and managing partner of Lateral Investment Management. This episode is sponsored by AlixPartners

Secondaries funds investing in private equity opportunities that held their final close between January and the end of September raised $67.69 billion – a 168 percent jump on the same period last year and 46 percent more than the previous record of $46.44 billion raised in Q1-Q3 2020. In this instalment of Second Thoughts, senior reporter Madeleine Farman and senior editor Adam Le dig further into the numbers to discuss whether 2023 could be a record year for secondaries fundraising; whether the secondaries market will continue to grapple with an under-allocation issue; and whether coffers are beginning to fill versus the opportunities that are out there in the market.