Alt Goes Mainstream

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s conversation unpacks an emerging category within infrastructure investing that has a compelling set of market forces and mega trend tailwinds.

We sat down in Stonepeak’s New York office with Stonepeak Credit Partner and Senior Managing Director Ryan Roberge.

Ryan brings a diverse set of experiences to bear that helped him build an infrastructure credit business at Stonepeak. He previously covered the energy and infrastructure sectors for King Street, a New York-based hedge fund focused on distressed, special situations, and event driven credit investing. Prior to King Street, Ryan worked in the Energy group at TPG Capital, a large global alternative asset manager. Ryan started his career in Credit Suisse’s Energy Investment Banking Group. He received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Louisiana State University.

Ryan and I had a fascinating conversation on why infrastructure credit’s time is now. We covered:

How Ryan’s background across energy investment banking, energy private equity, and distressed and special situations energy and infrastructure investing all help when investing in infrastructure credit.

Why infrastructure credit is a specialized, capital-intensive strategy.

How to underwrite data center risk.

Contrarian AI insights.

The biggest risks in infrastructure credit investing.

How and why infrastructure credit is different from other areas of private credit and direct lending.

How a specialist investment platform can help inform where to invest in infrastructure credit.

Thanks Ryan for coming on the podcast to share your expertise, wisdom, and passion for infrastructure and credit.

Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.

That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals.

Learn more: ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes

00:00 Hard Asset Diversification

00:25 Welcome to Alt Goes Mainstream

01:01 Message from our Sponsor, Ultimus

02:06 Meet Ryan Roberge

04:16 Ryan Career Origins

04:52 From Banking to TPG

05:30 Distressed Credit at King Street

06:13 Equity Lessons for Credit

07:13 Downside First Mindset

07:59 What Is Infrastructure Credit

08:19 Three Core Sectors

08:37 Asset Level Underwriting

09:14 Capital Intensive Returns

10:07 Thinking Like an Owner

10:38 Macro Tailwinds and Funding Gap

11:21 Why Direct Lending Misses It

12:59 Construction and Value Underwrite

13:47 Capital Markets Spectrum

16:03 Infra Credit vs Direct Lending

18:31 Middle Market First Lien Focus

19:53 Portfolio Fit and Diversification

25:29 Data Centers Hard Asset Tech Risk

26:40 Underwriting Data Center Terminal Value

28:25 Are Investors Missing Risks

29:00 Deal Structures and Loan to Cost

30:31 Investing Across the Value Chain

32:01 Mobile Power and Cycle Risk

33:15 Long Duration View Ahead

33:37 Loan Horizon Framework

34:26 Asset First Underwriting

34:44 Maintenance Capex Reality

35:48 Stress Testing Downside

36:02 Capital Flood into Infra

36:35 Funding Gap Tailwind

37:08 Theme Chasing Pitfalls

37:57 Why Skip Renewables

38:17 Bigger Deals Cheaper Money

38:48 ABF Insurance Capital Rise

39:15 Non-IG Hard Asset Risk

40:13 Why Not Investment Grade

40:27 Key Underwriting Risks

40:37 True Loan to Value

41:07 Fiber To Home Case Study

42:17 Growth Platform Underwrite

43:10 Skills For Infra Credit

43:28 Team Backgrounds

44:39 Downside Ownership Mindset

45:26 Contrarian AI Insight

46:25 Circular Demand Warning

49:07 Data Center Risk Playbook

51:52 Investor Demand And Wrap Up

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Join over 15,600 Substack subscribers & followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode takes us to a hub of market structure, a powerhouse of trading, and a crossroads of public and private markets to discuss how private markets are in the midst of a market structure evolution.

We sat down at Bloomberg’s NYC headquarters with Bloomberg’s Head of Fixed Income & Private Markets Brad Foster to discuss how technology and data are driving a convergence between public and private markets, particularly as it relates to the credit space.

Brad is the Head of Fixed Income & Private Markets at Bloomberg, where he’s focused on delivering the data, analytics, and tools clients need to power public and private market investment strategies and workflows. Brad joined Bloomberg in June 2017 to lead its Enterprise Data Content business as well as its Fixed Income Evaluated Pricing (BVAL) offering. He was appointed Head of Fixed Income, including Securitized Products, in early 2023 and Head of Fixed Income & Private Markets in early 2024. Prior to joining Bloomberg, Brad spent almost 20 years on the sell-side in multiple locations, including London, Tokyo, and New York, for Deutsche Bank as a Managing Director in Global Markets across Global Finance, Fixed Income & Currencies, Structured Finance, Special Situations, Structured Lending and Front Office Risk Management, including CVA and Counterparty Risk, where he managed a team that built a Cross-Product Risk and Portfolio Margining Platform. Prior to Deutsche Bank, he was at Credit Suisse in the Market Risk Management Group.

Brad and I had a fascinating conversation about public and private credit and how data and technology are shaping these markets. We covered:

How Bloomberg’s history shaping other market structures are informing how private markets market structure is evolving.

How public and private credit are converging.

Definitions and perspectives on liquidity vs illiquidity, what’s risky and what’s not risky.

What private markets needs from a market infrastructure perspective to scale.

Why borrowers are choosing private credit and the investment grade private credit option.

How Bloomberg is approaching private credit and private markets market structure.

Bloomberg’s build vs. buy vs. partner strategy with private markets tech.

Thanks Brad for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion at the intersection of credit, market structure, and financial technology.

Show Notes

00:00 Scaling Private Markets

01:45 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

04:29 Brad Foster’s Background

05:28 Client Empathy Product

07:13 Fixed Income Lessons

08:48 Efficiency and Electronification

10:00 Credit Spectrum Converges

11:58 Why Borrowers Go Private

13:37 Foundational Data Plumbing

15:07 Asset Owners Portfolio View

16:53 Transparency Versus Alpha

19:43 Market Structure Endgame

21:15 Bloomberg Terminal Workflow

23:35 Bought Not Sold

24:54 Secondary Markets Rise

25:46 Desktop Real Estate

28:24 Chat For Deal Flow

29:25 Build Buy Partner

32:05 Daphne Workflow Fix

33:09 Master Data Matters

34:58 Need Industry Taxonomy

36:09 Standardizing Valuations

38:54 Transparency And Liquidity

42:01 Portfolio Risk Tools

44:25 Agree On Definitions

46:11 Scaling For Growth

47:42 Closing Thoughts

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Join over 15,400 Substack subscribers & followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode unpacks how to build a private equity firm within one of the largest and most unique investment platforms in private markets.

We sat down in Brookfield Asset Management’s Brookfield Place office in downtown NY with David Nowak, the President of Brookfield’s Private Equity Group.

David and I dove into a conversation about the private equity industry, Brookfield’s approach to private equity, and how the firm’s culture and DNA shapes how they work with portfolio companies and LPs.

David has overall responsibility for the Private Equity Group’s North American business. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Private Equity Fund. He joined Brookfield in 2011. He holds a MBA degree from Duke University, where he graduated as a Fuqua Scholar, and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario.

David and I had a fascinating discussion about private equity and the Brookfield platform. We covered:

* How Brookfield’s owner-operator alignment informs how they approach private equity investing and their partnerships with portfolio companies.

* How the industry has gone from “roll your dice private equity to roll up your sleeves private equity.”

* Why and how the firm has a “blue collar work ethic.”

* The firm’s flat structure and a culture of collective effort, humility, and “earning your seat.”

* Why Brookfield’s private equity business focuses on complex carve outs.

* Why it’s important for investors to “think like an operator.”

* How the firm approaches value creation and the importance of understanding value creation levers even before making an investment.

* How Brookfield’s broader platform provides the private equity business with insights and subject matter expertise.

* The story behind Brookfield’s Westinghouse investment.

* What it means to look for “unloved businesses.”

* Why private equity is an apprenticeship business and how AI might impact the next generation of private equity leaders.

Thanks David for sharing your expertise, wisdom, and passion for private equity and company and culture-building.

Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.

That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals.

Learn more: ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes

00:00 Cold Open

00:51 A Message from our Sponsor, Ultimus

01:48 Welcome to David Nowak

03:33 Brookfield Culture - We Not I

04:46 Succession Humility and Earn Your Seat

06:23 Owner Operator Alignment

08:27 Maax Bath Turnaround Story

09:42 Roll Up Your Sleeves Private Equity

11:42 Operators on the Team

12:20 Secondments Train Investors

13:07 Platform Edge and Insights

14:58 Westinghouse Nuclear Thesis

15:58 Collaboration Across Platform

18:12 Long-Term Playbook Mindset

20:28 Value Creation - Three-Part Framework

24:07 Contrarian Not Thematic

25:57 Valuation Nuance - Graphite Example

27:38 Fixable vs Hard Problems

28:51 Winning Management Buy-In

30:03 Humility in Diligence

31:50 Stretching Young Leaders

34:12 Scaling Culture Globally

37:14 Fund Size and Returns

39:22 Quality vs Cheap Framework

41:50 Graphtech Value Creation

43:48 Upfront Work and Speed

46:05 Defining High Quality

47:27 Treating People Right

48:33 Curiosity in Private Equity

50:39 AI and Apprenticeship

52:08 Blue Collar Lessons

54:27 Closing Thoughts

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Join over 15,300 Substack subscribers & followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode dives into what it takes to start, build, and scale an alternative asset manager.

We sat down in Stable Asset Management’s London office with Erik Serrano Berntsen.

Erik is the CEO of Stable, where he defines and executes the firm’s investment strategy. Stable is one of the largest and most tenured GP stake builders globally. The firm manages around $5B in assets and has built over 40 firms since 2006.

Stable makes strategic seed and acceleration investments to launch and scale alternatives GPs across public and private markets. With offices in New York, London, and Palm Beach, the firm backs investment firm Founders who understand that extraordinary performance requires building exceptional organizations.

Committed to education as a catalyst for change, Erik supports the LSE Alternative Investments Conference — the world’s largest student conference for alternatives, which is how we met 16 years ago — as well as Girls Who Invest and Girls Are Investors. Stable backs 100 Women in Finance and is a Founding Partner of the 10,000 Interns Foundation.

Erik holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Keble College, Oxford, and an MBA with honors and a concentration in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Erik and I had a fascinating conversation about what it takes to be a great investor and build a unique investment firm. We discussed:

* How the business of asset management has evolved since 2006.

* What is the “operating system” of an asset management business?

* The incentives gap between LPs and GPs — and how that evolves as GPs scale.

* How GP seeding and GP stakes can be a solution to LP / GP misalignment.

* How to discern a manager’s “edge” and how “edge” can change with firm growth.

* The most non-obvious trait that makes for a great asset management founder.

* The nuances of evergreen structures and which strategies might be better suited for evergreen structures.

* The merits of the GP stakes investment strategy for LPs.

Thanks Erik for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about GP stakes and asset management.

Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.

That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals.

Learn more: ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes

00:00 Likeability Wins

00:55 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

01:50 Introduction to Erik Serrano Berntsen and Stable

04:08 Why they named the firm Stable

05:38 Branding as Alts Evolve

06:47 From Benchmarks to Solutions

08:22 What Stable Does

08:57 LP / GP Misalignment

09:35 GP Stakes Solution

10:09 Non-Market Risks

11:45 How Edge Changes with Scale

14:25 Three Edges to Underwrite

16:43 Founders Think Long Term

16:55 Project Legends

20:28 Timing Cycles and Strategy Drift

24:14 Seed vs Acceleration Playbook

26:24 Evergreen Capital Goes Mainstream

32:25 Wealth Channel Core vs Niche

35:25 Strategy and Scale Matrix

35:52 Private Equity Liquidity Challenge

34:46 Evergreens by Strategy

37:06 GP Stakes Lifecycle

40:34 Specialist Credit Edge

41:52 “Podshopification” in Private Markets

44:02 Founder Supply Drivers

46:34 Self Awareness Edge

48:22 Always Be Sourcing

50:16 Founder Led Alignment

50:37 Founder to Founder Trust

55:28 Operating System Playbook

59:46 Valuing Asset Managers

01:04:08 Stigma Is Fading

01:07:48 What Is Manager Edge

01:11:14 Firms to Emulate

01:14:24 Final Wrap Up

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Join over 15,200 Substack subscribers & followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield Oaktree, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode dives into how data and market structure are shaping private markets.

We sat down in MSCI’s New York office with Luke Flemmer, the Head of Private Assets at MSCI to discuss how standardization and normalization of data can help bring efficiency, transparency, and liquidity to private markets.

Luke brings a unique perspective to private markets. He was previously Managing Director, Head of Digital Strategy for Alternative Investments at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and was Co-Founder and CEO of Lab49, a global solutions provider of investment and risk technology to asset managers and investment banks.

When the ION Group acquired Lab49, Luke became Co-Head of ION’s Capital Markets Division, delivering software and solutions to the group’s global financial services customer base.

Earlier in his career, Luke worked in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence. He is a CFA charterholder.

Luke and I had a fascinating conversation about private markets market structure and how MSCI is playing a role in driving standardization, normalization, and transparency of data in private markets. We covered:

* Parallels to market structure evolutions in equities, fixed income, FX, and derivatives.

* Tradeoffs of transparency for private markets participants.

* What it will take to build transparency and price formation in private markets.

* Where investors will still be able to find durable alpha.

* What standardization and normalization of data means for secondary markets.

* Analogies between Greek mythology and private markets.

* How secondaries has gone from a trade to a portfolio management tool.

* How index creation will impact private markets.

Thanks Luke for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion at the intersection of private markets and market structure.

Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.

That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals.

Learn more: ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes

00:30 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

01:07 Sponsor Intro: Ultimus Fund Solutions

02:09 Meet MSCI’s Luke Flemmer

05:38 Wall Street Lessons: Fixed Income’s Electronification

07:00 From FX to Private Assets: The Data-Rich Value Chain

08:01 Harmonized Data → Liquidity

09:35 The Transparency Tradeoff: Who Wins, Who Loses?

11:42 What Efficiency Does to Private Market Spreads

13:49 Decomposing Private Equity Alpha: Manager Skill and Illiquidity

15:45 Building Blocks, Benchmarking and Total Portfolio

20:56 Parable of the Ship of Theseus: Should Private Markets Become Public Markets?

26:20 How LP Pressure Changed Reporting

26:57 Denominator Effect and the Push Toward Active LP Portfolio Management

28:05 Balancing Liquidity Across Public and Private

29:06 The Public/Private Blend Index: Why 85/15 Matters

30:08 Solving the “Stale Mark” Problem

31:18 Smoothing, Stickiness, and Forced Secondary Sales

32:34 What It Takes to Nowcast PE Daily: Marks and Public Market Correlations

33:51 Secondaries as a Pricing Flywheel: Faster Price Formation, Better Models

35:01 Lessons from Fixed Income NAVs

36:55 Building Trust in Private Benchmarks: Data Scale and Adoption Over Cycles

37:42 Unlocking the Wealth Channel (and 401(k)s): What Must Be True First

41:20 Advisor Pain Points: Liquidity Reality Checks and Factor Decomposition

42:57 Durable Alpha in Private Equity and Credit

44:50 Indexing Private Equity: Return Tracker, Replication, and the ETF Bridge

46:52 Standardizing the Language (Liquidity) and MSCI as the Market’s Connective Tissue

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Join over 15,100 Substack subscribers & followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield Oaktree, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

The Goldman Sachs Alternatives Summit “convened leaders across finance, geopolitics, technology, and culture” to discuss themes driving global markets.

2025’s Alternatives Summit was about “navigating a world in flux,” as the firm’s recap of its event noted.

The event aimed to help investors cut through the noise and put together the pieces of the puzzle in a dynamic and increasingly complex world.

Alt Goes Mainstream joined the event to have unscripted conversations with Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders to cut through the noise by unpacking key themes and trends at the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

In this special series, we went behind the scenes and interviewed six Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders about their current thinking on private markets and how the firm has built and evolved its private markets capabilities.

This conversation was with Jeff Fine, Partner, Global Co-Head of Alternatives Capital Formation within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with responsibility for capital raising, product strategy, research and investor relations across private equity, private credit, real assets, secondaries, GP stakes and hedge funds/liquid alternatives.

Jeff is a member of the Real Estate Investment Committee and Urban Investment Group Investment Committee. Jeffrey is also on the boards of GS Real Estate Investment Trust and GS Real Estate Finance Trust. Previously, he was Global Head of Real Estate Client Solutions for Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a senior real estate investor in the Merchant Banking Division for more than 20 years. Jeffrey joined Goldman Sachs in 2002 in the Merchant Banking Division as an Analyst. He was named Managing Director in 2012 and Partner in 2018. Jeff is Chairman of the Dyson School Advisory Council and a member of the SC Johnson College of Business Leadership Council at Cornell University. He is a member of the Cornell Endowment’s Risk, Liquidity, and Operations Subcommittee and the Board of Directors of the Pension Real Estate Association Foundation. Jeffrey is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Met Council at the Brookings Institution.

Jeff and I had a fascinating conversation about the intersection of private markets and private wealth, fundraising trends, and the growing role of insurers and the wealth channel in private markets capital formation. We covered:

The evolving private markets landscape.

The important role of the product specialist.

The impact of AI on investing and what it means for private markets.

What it takes to be a great investor.

The importance of the value creation process in driving investment value.

The future of capital formation in private markets.

Thanks Jeff for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about private markets and private wealth.

Show Notes

01:12 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

02:20 Jeff Fine’s Background and Career Journey

03:49 The Evolving Private Markets Landscape

05:29 The Role of Product Specialists in Wealth Channels

06:31 Blurring Lines Between Sales and Investment

07:52 Balancing Investment and Client Needs

08:06 The Importance of Resourcing and Talent

08:53 Challenges in the Fundraising Environment

11:03 Balancing Investment and Client Needs

13:17 Transparency and Client Communication

14:00 The Future of Private Markets and Capital Formation

14:21 Growth in Private Markets

19:20 Global Capital and Diversification

21:33 Smart Allocation in Private Markets

23:06 Private Credit as a Yield Instrument

23:59 The Role of Insurance in Private Markets

26:51 Customization and Scale in Private Markets

28:31 Balancing Customization and Operational Efficiency

31:34 Trends in LP Relationships

33:19 Strategic Partnerships and Cost Efficiency

34:21 Concerns About Market Valuations

35:41 Belief in Future Growth

37:16 The Importance of Scale

37:48 Advice for LPs in the Current Market

39:31 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

The Goldman Sachs Alternatives Summit “convened leaders across finance, geopolitics, technology, and culture” to discuss themes driving global markets.

2025’s Alternatives Summit was about “navigating a world in flux,” as the firm’s recap of its event noted.

The event aimed to help investors cut through the noise and put together the pieces of the puzzle in a dynamic and increasingly complex world.

Alt Goes Mainstream joined the event to have unscripted conversations with Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders to cut through the noise by unpacking key themes and trends at the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

In this special series, we went behind the scenes and interviewed six Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders about their current thinking on private markets and how the firm has built and evolved its private markets capabilities.

This conversation was with Michael Bruun, Partner, Global Co-Head of Private Equity within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

He is a member of the Goldman Sachs Asset Management International Management Committee, Asset Management (AM) Private Equity Investment Committee, AM Growth Equity Investment Committee, AM Sustainable Investing Investment Committee, Asset & Wealth Management Inclusion and Diversity Council and is a member of the Goldman Sachs Firmwide Client Franchise Committee. In 2021, Michael was named Head of EMEA Private Equity within Goldman Sachs Asset Management and from 2019 to 2021, he was Head of Private Equity and Growth Equity investing for India. Michael joined the Merchant Banking Division in 2010 and worked in London and New York. Prior to that, he was a member of the Nordic Mergers & Acquisitions team in the Investment Banking Division (IBD), after initially joining IBD in 2005. Michael joined Goldman Sachs as an Analyst in the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division in 2004. He was named Managing Director in 2013 and partner in 2016. Michael serves on the boards of Advania, Kahoot!, LRQA, Norgine, Synthon and Trackunit. He is a founding partner of the Human Practice Foundation in Denmark and a trustee in the UK. Michael earned a BA in Economics from the University of Copenhagen.

Michael and I had a fascinating conversation about private equity, today’s investing environment, the hardest part about investing today, and how product innovation is impacting private equity’s market structure. We discussed:

How investors can approach allocating to private equity today.

The toolkit required to generate returns in private equity today.

The importance of network and operating partners in value creation.

How new product innovation and new structures like evergreens and continuation vehicles are changing growth equity and private equity.

The importance of understanding macro in a new world order of geopolitics and a new world order of investing.

The skillsets that investors need to have to be a good investor in today’s investing environment.

The hardest part about investing today.

Thanks Michael for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about private equity.

Show Notes

00:57 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

01:12 Introducing Michael Bruun

01:51 Michael’s Career Journey

02:20 Evolution of Private Equity

02:50 Impact of Market Changes on Returns

03:35 Operational Value Creation

04:20 Importance of Value Creation Resources

05:06 Driving EBITDA Growth

05:58 Segments of Value Acceleration

07:13 Focus on Data and AI

08:31 AI in Different Market Segments

11:38 Goldman Sachs’ Broader Platform

12:13 Network and Insights at Goldman Sachs

14:46 Importance of Scale in Private Equity

16:00 Co-Investments and Evergreen Vehicles

18:33 Flexibility in Private Markets

19:50 Allocating to Private Equity Today

20:28 Differentiation Through Resources

24:27 Navigating Volatility

25:35 Post-Investment Operations

26:00 Goldman Sachs Engineering

26:56 Excitement for the Future of Private Equity

28:21 CEO AI Academy

28:46 Conclusion and Wrap-Up

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

The Goldman Sachs Alternatives Summit “convened leaders across finance, geopolitics, technology, and culture” to discuss themes driving global markets.

2025’s Alternatives Summit was about “navigating a world in flux,” as the firm’s recap of its event noted.

The event aimed to help investors cut through the noise and put together the pieces of the puzzle in a dynamic and increasingly complex world.

Alt Goes Mainstream joined the event to have unscripted conversations with Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders to cut through the noise by unpacking key themes and trends at the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

In this special series, we went behind the scenes and interviewed six Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders about their current thinking on private markets and how the firm has built and evolved its private markets capabilities.

This conversation was with Harold Hope, Partner, Global Head of Vintage Strategies, one of the world's largest secondary fund managers, in the External Investing Group (XIG) within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

He is also Chair of the XIG Vintage Funds Committee and a member of the XIG Real Estate Strategies Investment Committee and the XIG GP Strategies Investment Committee. Harold joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 as an Associate in Leveraged Finance and Corporate Finance within the Investment Banking Division and moved to the Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (now XIG) private equity business in 2001. He was named Managing Director in 2006 and Partner in 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Harold worked as a financial analyst at the investment banking boutique Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co. Harold earned a BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of North Carolina.

Harold and I had a fascinating and timely conversation about the growth and evolution of the secondaries market. We discussed:

Perspectives from Harold’s early days in secondaries 25 years ago, when Goldman had raised its first $400M fund in secondaries and when the secondaries industry was doing around $2B per year in transaction volume.

How the secondaries market is vastly different from five years ago.

The evolution of innovation in the secondaries market.

Why problem-solving is a defining feature of secondaries.

What is the right skillset required to be a great secondaries investor?

Why secondaries is fundamentally a valuation oriented business.

Are secondaries returns driven by buying high-quality assets or by buying at steep discounts?

Misconceptions about continuation vehicles and how the trend of private companies staying private longer impacts CVs.

The how and the why behind Goldman’s recent acquisition of Industry Ventures and why Goldman is excited about the opportunity set in venture and growth secondaries.

Why scale matters in secondaries.

Why secondaries might not become a traded market like the bank loan market and why secondaries may not fully achieve standardization because managers may not want completely uniform standardization.

Why secondaries can be an on-ramp to private markets for private wealth investors.

Thanks Harold for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about secondaries and private markets.

Show Notes

00:35 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

01:12 Introduction to Harold Hope

02:19 The Changing Landscape of the Secondaries Market

04:55 Skills and Strategies in the Secondaries Business

05:58 Valuation Approaches in Secondaries

07:38 Continuation Vehicles and Market Misconceptions

11:23 Goldman Sachs’ Industry Ventures Acquisition

12:49 Specialized Teams and the Importance of Scale

13:55 Goldman Sachs’ Unique Position in Secondaries

15:14 The Role of Data and AI in Secondaries

17:42 Future Growth and Opportunities in Secondaries

18:33 Secondaries as an On-Ramp for Retail Investors

19:23 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

The Goldman Sachs Alternatives Summit “convened leaders across finance, geopolitics, technology, and culture” to discuss themes driving global markets.

2025’s Alternatives Summit was about “navigating a world in flux,” as the firm’s recap of its event noted.

The event aimed to help investors cut through the noise and put together the pieces of the puzzle in a dynamic and increasingly complex world.

Alt Goes Mainstream joined the event to have unscripted conversations with Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders to cut through the noise by unpacking key themes and trends at the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

In this special series, we went behind the scenes at the Goldman Sachs Alternatives Conference and interviewed six Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders about their current thinking on private markets and how the firm has built and evolved its private markets capabilities.

This conversation was with Kristin Olson, Partner, Global Head of Alternatives for Wealth within Asset & Wealth Management and a member of the Management Committee.

In her role, she oversees the global alternatives platform and alternatives product strategy across wealth client businesses. Kristin joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 as an Analyst in the Financial Institutions Group in the Investment Banking Division. She was named Managing Director in 2008 and Partner in 2014. Kristin is a member of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a leading research institution focusing on cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, and bioinformatics, and is a member of the Georgetown University Board of Regents. Kristin earned a BS in International Economics, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1998.

Kristin and I had a fascinating conversation about private markets, private wealth, how to approach strategic and tactical asset allocation, the evolving

Lessons learned from working with Goldman Private Wealth clients that the firm has applied to how they approach serving client needs across the wealth channel with private markets solutions.

Why Millennials are interested in investing in private markets.

How investors access innovation through private markets.

How can alternative asset managers approach educating the client and investor of the future?

How private markets fits into a strategic asset allocation framework.

What’s the next evolution in private markets education for the wealth channel investor?

What is the main source of information about private markets for investors?

The future of implementation, model portfolios, and hybrid products in private markets.

Thanks Kristin for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion at the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

Show Notes

00:00 Introduction to Asset Allocation at Goldman Sachs

00:42 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

01:20 Interview with Kristin Olson: Background and Career

02:44 Evolution and Education in Private Markets

04:27 Serving Different Wealth Channels

06:06 Product Innovation and Strategy

07:31 Survey Insights and Future Trends

08:30 Connecting with Younger Investors

09:59 The Future of Education in Alternatives

12:50 Consolidation and Partnerships

14:54 Product Innovation and Strategy

17:15 Advice for New Investors in Private Markets

18:02 Conclusion and Wrap-Up

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

The Goldman Sachs Alternatives Summit “convened leaders across finance, geopolitics, technology, and culture” to discuss themes driving global markets.

2025’s Alternatives Summit was about “navigating a world in flux,” as the firm’s recap of its event noted.

The event aimed to help investors cut through the noise and put together the pieces of the puzzle in a dynamic and increasingly complex world.

Alt Goes Mainstream joined the event to have unscripted conversations with Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders to cut through the noise by unpacking key themes and trends at the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

In this special series, we went behind the scenes at the Goldman Sachs Alternatives Conference and interviewed six Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders about their current thinking on private markets and how the firm has built and evolved its private markets capabilities.

This conversation was with James Reynolds, Global Co-Head of Private Credit within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management International.

James is Co-Chair of the Asset Management Private Credit Investment Committee, as well as a member of the Management Committee, Partnership Committee, the European Management Committee and the EMEA Talent Council. James joined Goldman Sachs in 2000 as an Analyst and was named Managing Director in 2007 and Partner in 2010. James is a trustee of Greenhouse Sports and serves as a member of the Corporation Development Committee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). James earned a BS from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in 1998 and an MSc from MIT in 2000.

James and I had a fascinating conversation about Goldman’s extensive history in private credit and the current market dynamics. We covered:

Why all capital coming into the private credit industry is not created equal.

How Goldman’s culture of “partnership, collaboration, and the right incentives” provides them with an edge in origination.

Why James is an “optimistic pessimist.”

Narrative versus reality in private credit markets today.

What creates alpha in private credit.

How to build an investment culture and, in credit, how to build an investment culture that “doesn’t feel pressure to deploy.”

Why many investors are focusing on Europe.

How the entire platform of Goldman Sachs helps them in private credit.

Thanks James for sharing your expertise, wisdom, and passion for private credit, private markets, and private wealth.

Show Notes

00:00 Introduction: Investment Culture in Private Credit

00:40 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

01:33 James Reynolds’ Background and Career Journey

02:05 Early Days of Private Credit

03:01 Evolution and Growth of Private Credit

03:30 Direct Origination and Financing Solutions

04:31 Growth and Capital in Private Credit

06:37 Importance of Origination in Private Credit

07:05 Goldman Sachs’ Competitive Edge

09:19 Global Perspective and Market Trends

11:10 One Goldman: Unified Solutions

14:49 Navigating Market Trends and Deployments

16:04 Investment Culture and Minimizing Defaults

18:42 Investment Culture and Team Dynamics

20:13 Traits of a Great Credit Investor

22:51 Assessing the Business of Asset Management

24:58 Opportunities in European Credit Market

28:49 Concerns and Future of Private Credit

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.