Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

We were live from iCapital Connect’s conference in Phoenix, where we sat down with some of the industry’s leaders across asset management and wealth management.

Eric Muller is Portfolio Manager & Partner, CEO - BDCs for Oak Hill Advisors (OHA). Oak Hill, which was acquired by T. Rowe Price in December 2021, has $112B AUM across performing and distressed credit-related investments in North America, Europe and other geographies.

Eric shares responsibility for leading OHA’s private credit business and has primary management responsibility for OHA’s BDCs. Prior to joining OHA in 2018, Mr. Muller worked in Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division, where he was a Partner in the Private Credit Group, responsible for leading its private senior lending business in North America and managing vehicles that invested across the spectrum of the credit market. 

With credit on the minds of many, Eric provided a nuanced perspective on the current state of the credit markets and where to uncover both opportunity and risk in the market.

Eric and I had a fascinating conversation about the current state of private credit. We discussed:

• How his experience in private equity has informed how he approaches credit investing.
• What are the risk / reward trade-offs in private credit?
• Why credit investors need to be pessimists.
• How LPs should evaluate private credit firms and why the ability to do workouts matters.
• How do private equity sponsors pick their credit partners?
• Why private credit firms might have higher recovery rates than liquid credit markets.
• How OHA’s combination with T. Rowe Price has helped the firm productize for the wealth channel.
• What are misconceptions about private credit risk and liquidity?
• Where are the opportunities in liquid credit versus illiquid credit?

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

Show Notes

00:00 Relative Value Lens

00:11 A Message from Ultimus Fund Solutions

01:08 Live at iCapital Connect

01:46 Early Career at Goldman

01:59 Mezzanine Fund Era

02:23 GFC Timing Advantage

02:51 Running Private Credit

03:03 Joining Oak Hill

04:15 PE Lessons for Credit

04:30 Different Investor Questions

04:56 Credit Risk Reward Mindset

05:45 Optimistic Pessimist

06:16 Downside With Right Tail

06:47 Workouts and Distressed Skills

08:02 Private vs Liquid Recoveries

08:19 Aligned Lenders in Private

08:54 Sponsor Relationships Matter

09:22 Choosing the Right Partners

10:46 Volatility Reveals Behavior

11:22 Is Capital Commodity

12:39 OHA Distressed DNA

13:31 Crossroads of Markets

14:26 Challenges of Unconstrained

15:22 Risk Spectrum for LPs

16:19 T Rowe Deal Rationale

17:18 Democratizing Alts Access

19:10 One Ticker Multi Strategy

20:28 Liquidity Wrappers Tradeoffs

21:49 Quasi Liquid Reality Check

22:35 Liquid vs Illiquid Risk

23:27 Diligence Questions for LPs

24:33 Origination Edge and Speed

26:19 Public-Private Financing Choice

26:55 Alts in Target Date Funds

28:41 Private Credit Misconceptions

30:30 Closing Thoughts

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Disclosures

The views expressed are the interviewee’s, are subject to change without notice, and may differ from those of other T. Rowe Price associates.  Information and opinions are derived from proprietary and nonproprietary sources deemed to be reliable; the accuracy of those sources is not guaranteed. This material does not constitute a distribution, offer, invitation, recommendation, or solicitation to sell or buy any securities.  It does not constitute investment advice and should not be relied upon as such.  Investors should seek independent legal and financial advice, including advice as to tax consequences, before making any investment decision.

Some or all alternative investments may not be suitable for certain investors. Alternative investments are typically speculative and involve a substantial degree of risk. Each fund and account may be leveraged and engage in other speculative practices that may increase the risk of investment loss. Investors must realize that they could lose all or a substantial amount of their investment. In addition, the fees and expenses charged may be higher than the fees and expenses of other investment alternatives, which will reduce profits.
 
T. Rowe Price has $1.7T total assets under management and OHA has $112B assets under management as of March 31, 2026.

In the United States, securities are offered through T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., a broker dealer, registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a member of FINRA. Securities are offered through T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., and advisory services are offered by Oak Hill Advisors, L.P. OHA is a T. Rowe Price company. T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc. and Oak Hill Advisors, L.P. are affiliated. 5629822

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

We were live from AGM’s RIA Field Trip at Brookfield’s New York office at Brookfield Place with Oaktree Managing Director and Co-Portfolio Manager Danielle Poli to unpack why private credit is at a crossroads and why dispersion is growing. 

Danielle has a unique perch to form a developed view on the current state of private credit. She sits at the intersection of public and private credit, providing her with perspectives on where opportunities and risks lie across the liquidity spectrum. 

Danielle is a founding member of Oaktree’s Global Credit strategy and its Investment Committee, which was established in 2017. She’s been an important contributor to its growth into a scaled multi-asset credit platform. She previously led Oaktree’s product specialist group, which she helped build into a global team supporting credit, private equity, and real estate. She joined Oaktree in 201 and has nearly two decades of experience in private markets. She has been named to Barron’s list of the 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance. 

Danielle and I had a fascinating conversation about the current state of private credit, where cracks might be emerging and where to find pockets of opportunity amid the dislocations. We covered:

• Why is boring beautiful in private credit?
• Where are we in the credit cycle?
• Why it’s important to have a contrarian mindset.
• Where, why, and how dispersion is rising in credit.
• How to underwrite software investments post-AI. 
• Why asset-backed finance can be a diversifier.
• Why now could be the time to prepare for opportunistic and rescue lending opportunities, as maturities are fast approaching.
• How to balance public and private credit investing. 

Thanks, Danielle, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about private credit. 

Show Notes

00:00 Live Podcast Intro

00:06 Meet Danielle Poli

00:17 Contrarian Mindset 

00:34 Our Sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

01:32 Where Private Credit Stands Today

02:22 Bifurcation and ABF Rise

02:59 Liquid vs Private Convergence

03:36 Danielle’s Career Background

04:13 Why Liquidity Matters

04:39 Dislocation Advantages

05:10 Risk Return Tradeoffs

05:18 Liquidity Premium Compression

05:41 Covenants and Complexity

06:01 Not All Private Credit is Equal

06:34 Corporate vs Asset-Backed

07:05 Why ABF Diversifies

07:30 How Allocators Fund ABF

07:49 Credit Taking Share from Equities

08:49 Tough Direct Lending Vintages

09:22 Rates Shock and Leverage

09:43 AI Disrupts Software Credit

10:41 Oaktree Software Underweight

12:01 Underwriting Software Post AI

12:57 Inside the Investment Committee

13:57 Selling Rallies and Positioning

31:30 Closing Thoughts

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Building community is central to enabling an industry to grow. There are few better ways to build community and foster trusted relationships than to break bread. 

As the wealth channel continues to expand its adoption of private markets, peer-to-peer learning becomes ever more important. Sharing experiences and perspectives is what will help the wealth channel adopt private market solutions thoughtfully and responsibly.

That’s what happened at Franklin Templeton’s Private Markets RIA Advisory Council event and dinner at BLACKBARN recently. Bread was broken. Relationships were built. 

We also found time to record a podcast at a dinner table with Franklin Templeton’s Head of Private Markets - Americas Wealth Management Dave Donahoo and Summit Wealth Group’s CIO Chelsea Ganey. The discussion granted access to a direct, honest, and raw window into perspectives on how asset managers and wealth managers can work together to educate one another and help move the industry forward. And yes, bread was broken before and after the podcast.

Please enjoy this fantastic conversation with Dave and Chelsea on the state of private markets and private wealth and how both asset managers and wealth managers can balance customization and differentiation with scale.

Thanks, Dave and Chelsea, for such a thoughtful and fascinating conversation.

Show Notes

00:00 A message from Ultimus, our Sponsor

00:57 Meet The Guests

01:07 Private Markets Are Eating World

01:29 Why Create RIA Council

01:49 Franklin Client-First DNA

02:09 From Public To Private

02:43 Listening Beyond Product

03:07 Peer To Peer Insights

04:12 Chelsea On The Benefits of Advisory Council

04:36 Inbox Overload And Filtering

05:10 Serving Diverse RIA Needs

06:15 Many RIAs Within One

06:30 What CIOs Need Most

06:54 Educating Advisors At Scale

07:32 GPs Must Listen Better

08:26 What Education Really Means

09:01 Repeatable Advisor Resources

09:54 Avoid Oversimplifying Complexity

10:30 Education Shifts To Choice

11:50 Balancing Choice And Customization

13:13 Centralized Menu For Scale

15:10 Sober Selling And Integrity

16:30 Franklin Private Markets Platform

17:59 Specialist Managers Model

18:28 Infrastructure Partnership Play

19:22 Do More With Less Managers

21:04 Holistic Options For Advisors

21:47 Where Product Innovation Goes

22:23 Sun Moon Stars Aligning

22:53 Future Access 401k Models

23:12 Start With Investment Why

23:29 Allocator Innovation Lens

24:09 Models Versus Customization

24:35 Why Innovation Matters

24:53 No One Right Way

25:18 Whats Still Missing

25:33 Scaling And The Middle

25:55 Magic Wand Question

26:19 Plumbing And Reporting

26:32 Perpetual Structure Tradeoffs

26:46 Protecting Investment Integrity

27:30 Long Term Over Short Term

27:42 Need More CIO Mindsets

28:03 Strategic Allocation For Alts

28:50 Chelsea On Strategic Framing

29:34 Making Liquidity Intuitive

30:06 Educating On Liquidity Risk

30:29 Private Markets Risk Reframe

31:32 Dave On Portfolio Construction

32:14 Standardizing Industry Terms

32:42 Building Trust With Liquidity

33:45 A Fun Question

38:10 Client Analogies That Stick

40:43 Fat Pitch Opportunities Today

42:53 Closing Thoughts And Thanks

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

We went to a mecca of football to film the latest episode. This conversation takes us to Turin, Italy, where we were in the Juventus Creator Lab with Italian football (I mean soccer for the Americans) legend and one of the best defenders of all time Giorgio Chiellini.

Giorgio’s career and playing style were defined by Juventus’ very motto, fino alla fine (“until the end”). It’s also a mentality that he brings to every aspect of life on and off the pitch. 

After an illustrious playing career at one of the world’s biggest clubs, Juventus, and a career that also included two World Cup appearances for Italy and winning the Euro 2020 as the Captain of Italy, Giorgio came back home to Turin rejoin the club where he starred for 17 years: Juventus. Giorgio has gone from the pitch to the boardroom, helping to lead Juventus as the Director of Football Strategy. He has brought the player’s perspective to the business side of football, balancing the nuances of sports and business.

Despite the demands that Giorgio faced on the field as a player to maintain a standard of play at the highest levels of the game, he found time during his career to pursue his passion for business. He received his MBA while playing for Juventus and also was involved in the player development side in his final years as a player at LAFC. More recently, he became an investor in LAFC and in Mercury13, a multi-club investor in women’s football teams, including FC Como. He’s also an active investor in the European startup community.

Giorgio and I had a wide-ranging and fascinating conversation that covered several dimensions of the business of sport. We discussed:

• How teams, owners, and investors can balance both the sport and business aspects of the game.
• What it means for sports now that players can have bigger social followings than their clubs or leagues.
• How Juventus has built and amplified its brand through initiatives like the Creator Lab.
• How clubs like Juventus can help players build their off-field brand while maintaining a high-quality on-field product.
• How Giorgio’s work off the field while playing informed how he wanted to spend his time post-career in business.
• What Giorgio’s day-to-day is like as Director of Football Strategy for Juventus.
• Why Giorgio invested in LAFC and what he thinks about the future of the MLS.
• What American owners and investors can learn from European soccer clubs and owners, and what European clubs and owners can learn from American owners and investors.

Thanks, Giorgio, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and enthusiasm at the intersection of sports and business.

Note: this episode was filmed in October 2025 with a plan to publish the conversation around the World Cup.

Show Notes

00:00 Split Second Decision

01:06 A Message from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

02:10 Meet Giorgio Chiellini

04:17 What Is the Juventus Creator Lab

04:36 Building Fans Through Content

05:27 Football Brand Goes Global

06:15 Revenue From Winning

06:43 Two Hearts One Club

07:52 Winning Versus Storytelling

08:40 Fans Everywhere Now

09:27 Too Many Games Problem

09:51 Stakeholders and Calendar

11:00 Owner Advice Communication

11:28 From Kid to Club 

14:12 Film Study for Matches

15:02 The Saka Tactical Foul

17:26 Social Media and Mental Health

29:32 US World Cup Reality

29:45 Grassroots Long Game

30:09 MLS and USL Momentum

30:14 Stadiums and Growth

30:20 MLS Season vs Playoffs

30:46 Supporters Shield Incentives

31:11 Travel and Rest Mentality

31:33 Europe Stakes Comparison

31:54 Highlights Era Question

32:24 Bite-Sized Sports Culture

33:40 Choosing What to Watch

33:55 Sports Must Adapt

34:33 Owners Business View

35:15 TV Rights and Strategy

36:05 Institutional Money Trend

36:42 Why Funds Love Sports

37:04 Balancing Profit and Emotion

38:12 Fiduciary Duty vs Winning

39:15 Permanent Capital Advantage

40:42 Mission Values Legacy

41:54 Juventus DNA and Family

44:31 Leadership Lessons Learned

45:38 From Captain to Executive

47:05 Humanity and Energy

48:21 Player to Business Challenges

50:00 Investing in Italian Startups

51:47 How He Picks Investments

52:43 Innovation and AI in Sport

53:16 Favorite Alternative Investment

54:34 Profitability and Winning

55:21 Closing

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

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

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s conversation provides a fascinating window into the world of how one of the industry’s largest wealth managers approaches private markets.

We sat down with the man who holds the keys to the kingdom.

Mark Sutterlin is the Head of Alternative Investments within the Investment Solutions Group at Bank of America. He leads the firm’s strategy and platform development across hedge funds, private credit, private equity, physical precious metals, and real estate, delivering a broad spectrum of institutional-grade investment solutions to advisors and their clients.

Mark brings the advisor’s perspective to bear as he builds the alternative investments menu for Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank and helps educate advisors and clients on how and where to thoughtfully and appropriately include private markets in portfolios.

Mark and I had a fascinating discussion. We covered:

• How GPs can work with private banks.
• What one of the largest private wealth allocators looks for in GPs.
• How Merrill approaches different product structures to deliver solutions across the wealth client spectrum.
• What constitutes a manager’s edge.

I loved this conversation with Mark, who takes such a thoughtful approach and brings a true passion to helping clients and advisors build and protect wealth.

Thanks Mark for sharing your expertise, wisdom, and passion on private markets and private wealth.

Show Notes

00:00 Investor Edge Beyond Returns

00:32 Sponsor Message from Ultimus

01:41 Meet Mark Sutterlin

04:15 Advisor Trust and Responsibility

04:24 Penetration Across Wealth Tiers

04:38 Scaling Alts Across Books

04:49 Evergreen to Drawdown Spectrum

05:12 Building the Shelf Challenge

05:32 Evergreen Role in Portfolios

05:42 Serving Broad Client Needs

06:06 Optionality Not One Product

06:20 Diligence as Core Identity

06:48 Nuance in Private Credit

07:27 Long-Term Themes Overlay

07:56 Core and Satellite Question

08:28 Drawdown vs Evergreen Tradeoffs

08:48 Advisor Client Feedback Loop

09:25 Evergreens Now Dominate Flows

09:49 Evergreen Growing Pains

10:14 Education and Expectations

10:42 Rotation Within Evergreens

11:11 Who Can Run Evergreens Well

11:35 Scale Deal Flow Allocation Policy

12:29 Post Sale Servicing Matters

12:52 How Managers Should Service

13:23 Transparency Builds Loyalty

14:03 Vetting Managers for Private Banks

14:45 Investor Skill Is Table Stakes

15:22 Thousand Funds Deep Diligence

16:07 Unpacking Firm DNA

16:23 Private Wealth Is High Touch

16:53 Eyes Wide Open Expectations

17:14 Best GPs Listen and Adapt

18:12 Customization Versus Scale

19:13 Specialists and Custom Funds

19:57 Proposal Tools for Advisors

20:43 Menu Design From Client Needs

21:25 Differentiation in UHNW

22:31 Co-Invest and Capacity Access

24:43 Tech DLT and Streamlining

25:38 Biggest Blocker Education Gap

26:45 Misconception Complexity

27:52 Alts Invitationals Bootcamp

29:45 Where Advisors Are Today

30:16 What Why How Framework

31:32 Implementation Needs Support

31:51 Scaling the Alts Business

32:45 Open Architecture Platform

33:01 Lifecycle Ops Risk Controls

33:40 Where to Invest Next

33:53 Infrastructure and DLT Readiness

34:42 Future Growth Sources

35:37 Advisors Yet to Adopt

36:00 Balanced Growth Outlook

36:58 Client Sentiment Today

38:11 Patience and Long-Term Adoption

38:51 Next Gen Investor Mindset

40:43 Defining a Manager’s Edge

41:23 Specialization and Storytelling

42:31 Building a Menu of Edges

42:47 Business Plan Plus Open Mind

43:44 Advice for GPs Pitching Merrill

44:39 Platform Differentiation and Exclusivity

46:47 What Worries Mark Today

48:19 Excited About AI and Infrastructure

50:42 Wrap Up and Thanks

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

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

Welcome to the 20th episode of the Alts Pulse, a collaboration between iCapital x Alt Goes Mainstream. 

In the latest episode of the Alts Pulse, we were live from iCapital Connect. iCapital Managing Director, Head of Private Asset Research & Model Portfolios, Kunal Shah, and I had a conversation about how to marry an institutional allocator’s mindset with the nuances of serving wealth clients.

Kunal brings an institutional allocator’s mindset to the wealth channel. At iCapital, he’s focused on the identification, selection, and due diligence of private equity funds offered on the Flagship Platform. Prior to iCapital, Kunal was a Principal in the private markets group at Meketa Investment Group, a leading global investment consultant serving pension funds, endowments and foundations, and family offices. In that role, Kunal was responsible for leading and managing private equity fund investments. He joined Meketa in 2006 and invested globally, covering buyouts, venture capital, private debt, natural resources, and infrastructure investments. He also developed and led Meketa’s secondary funds purchase practice. Kunal has also served on various LP advisory boards. Prior to Meketa, Kunal was an analyst at The Vanguard Group. 

Kunal and I finally turned all those hallway conversations we had at iCapital’s old office of 441 Lexington into a podcast! We had a fascinating discussion about how to evaluate alternative asset managers and what makes a great manager. We covered:

• How should wealth managers approach private markets?
• Why it’s important to “always be committed” rather than try to time vintages.
• Are evergreen structures a “game changer” for the wealth channel and a foundational piece for model portfolios?
• What features does a GP need to run an evergreen fund structure?
• What does the centralization of the CIO function and OCIO consolidation in the wealth channel mean for GPs?

Thanks, Kunal, for sharing your passion, wisdom, and expertise at the intersection of private markets and private wealth, and for a great conversation that tied together how private markets and private wealth are changing as new product structures and product innovation take shape.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode brings commercial real estate credit investing to life with someone who has real estate in his blood. 

Michael Comparato’s grandfather started building single-family homes in upstate New York in 1946. He built his first shopping center in 1958. Michael was born into a family where he was on construction sites from a young age. At 13, he was doing landscaping. At 15, he was hanging drywall. 

Today, Michael is a Senior Managing Director, Head of Real Estate and Portfolio Manager with Benefit Street Partners, as well as Chief Executive Officer of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: FBRT). He also serves on the US Executive Committee.

Prior to joining BSP in 2015, Michael was Head of U.S. Equity Investments at Ladder Capital. Before that, he was President at Bank Atlantic Commercial Mortgage Capital.

Benefit Street Partners is part of Franklin Templeton’s family of specialists in private markets. BSP is a specialized private credit firm with over $92B in AUM. The firm manages a wide range of private credit strategies, including direct lending, special situations, commercial real estate debt, infrastructure debt, asset-backed finance, structured credit, and liquid credit. It also manages a non-traded Business Development Company and publicly-listed mortgage REIT.

Since BSP was acquired by Franklin Templeton in 2019, it has partnered with the $1.7T investment manager to expand how it structures various products and funds, enabling more access to the private credit asset class for wealth investors.

From his perch as the Head of BSP’s Real Estate business, Michael has the perspective of how one of the industry’s scaled real estate investment firms is approaching commercial real estate credit and where the firm sees opportunity. 

Michael and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of CRE credit and why now might be an interesting time in the CRE credit space. We covered:

• Why CRE, why now.
• What bank retrenchment means for CRE credit investors today.
• The relative resilience of multi-family.
• The maturity wall myth.
• Is the “extend and pretend” activity a reality?
• How AI impacts commercial real estate.

Thanks Michael for sharing your passion, wisdom, and expertise on commercial real estate credit.

Show Notes

00:00 Meet Michael Comparato

01:17 Real Estate Roots

03:25 Early Lessons and Purpose

03:35 Hurricanes And Tenants

05:05 Story Over Spreadsheet

06:49 Why Origination Wins

08:43 Family Business Ethos

10:59 Trust And Transparency

11:27 Lending Through Covid

13:05 Structuring For Uncertainty

13:56 Boom Times Underwriting Shifts

16:54 Crowded Class A Trade

18:19 Are Values Fair Today

21:46 Operator Shakeout

23:59 Scale and Market Structure

26:16 Banks Pull Back Credit

27:59 Private Credit Fills Gap

29:24 Who Holds Last Dollar Risk

29:29 Returns and Competition

30:35 Competition Compresses Yields

30:58 Maturity Wall Myth

33:05 How Investors Bucket Credit

36:04 Wealth Channel Opportunity

37:49 Why Credit Beats Equity Now

41:58 Megatrends and AI Fears

44:40 Shelter and Multifamily Focus

46:11 Community and Social Real Estate

48:16 Real Estate Constant Evolution

51:06 CRE Credit vs Direct Lending

53:21 Final Wrap and Outro

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode is with a founder who is building mission-critical valuation and portfolio monitoring software for alternative asset managers.

We are joined by Yann Magnan, the Co-Founder and CEO of 73 Strings, to discuss how valuation work and portfolio monitoring is moving from manual to automated and why that’s so important for the industry. 73 Strings has leveraged AI and automation to more seamlessly and cost-effectively extract data, monitor portfolios, and streamline middle-office processes for valuations. 73 Strings works with a number of the industry’s top alternative asset managers and has received investment from Blackstone, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Hamilton Lane, Golub, Fidelity International Strategic Ventures, and Broadhaven Ventures, amongst others.

Yann has brought his experience as a senior member of the Duff & Phelps team, where he was EMEA Market Leader and member of the Global Operating Committee and as a Partner at EY’s Transaction Advisory Services to help bring valuation and portfolio monitoring solutions into the mainstream.

Yann and I had a fascinating conversation about how technology innovation and AI are impacting private markets and perspectives on valuation work today. We discussed:

• The challenges with manual valuation services businesses.
• How to create uniformity and standardization with private markets fund performance data.
• How AI is changing private markets post-investment reporting processes.
• Does automation in private markets help big funds or small funds more?
• The evolution of post-investment private markets market structure.
• The biggest technology innovation still missing from private markets.
• Why the growth of the wealth channel and evergreen funds increases the need for more streamlined reporting and valuation solutions.

Thanks Yann for coming on the show to share your expertise, insights, and passion about private markets.

Show Notes

00:00 AI Since Day One

01:06 A Message from our Sponsor, Ultimus

02:02 Introduction to Yann Magnan

04:11 From Manual To Automated

04:44 Excel Google Email

04:58 Cloud And Early AI

05:07 Governed Auditable Process

05:30 Founding 73 Strings

05:36 Two Valuation Platforms

05:55 Scaling With Alts Growth

06:28 Evergreen Acceleration

06:54 Retail Investor Expectations

07:09 Transactions Need Fresh NAVs

07:44 Valuations For Transactions

08:14 Continuation Vehicles Context

08:42 Reporting To Trading Shift

09:07 Illiquid Vs Liquid Compare

09:18 Mimicking Public Markets

09:43 Valuation Philosophy Changes

10:27 Back Office To Front Office

11:25 New Stakeholders To Balance

11:59 Why Private Must Feel Public

12:20 Transparency And Liquidity

13:18 Is Liquidity Good

15:11 Evergreen Process Differences

16:09 Higher Frequency Requirements

18:00 Tech Leverage Points

18:53 People Plus Technology

19:44 Portfolio Data As DNA

21:02 No Single Valuation Standard

21:47 Consistency Over Time

22:20 Human In The Loop

22:42 Art And Science Framework

24:03 No One Best Method

24:55 Wealth Channel Education

25:30 What LPs Should Ask

26:46 What Top GPs Want

27:38 Global Tech Adoption

28:49 Fundraising Drives Ops

30:23 AI Data Extraction Story

31:48 Standardizing Data Labels

32:21 Data Model Requirements

32:52 Is Data A Moat

33:14 Turning Data Into Insights

33:54 Scale Versus Specialization

35:04 Tech Helps Small Managers

36:21 AI Impact On All Funds

36:44 Starting Before GenAI Boom

37:42 ML And NLP Foundations

38:40 Agents Accelerate Valuations

39:26 Overnight Valuation Refresh

39:57 More Frequent Valuations

40:10 Limits Of Daily Data

41:03 Explainability And Trust

41:42 Next Market Structure Shift

42:09 Digital GP LP Data Sharing

43:12 Interconnection Needs Trust

43:46 Closing Thanks

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

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

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

We were live from iCapital Connect’s conference in Phoenix, where we sat down with some of the industry’s leaders across asset management and wealth management.

Hartley Rogers is a pioneer in private markets. He is the Executive Co-Chairman of Hamilton Lane, where he plays a significant role in investing and client relationship activities, as well as in strategic and organizational development. He is a Member of the Investment Committees and is the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2003, Hartley was a Managing Director in the private equity fund management areas at Morgan Stanley and at Credit Suisse. He started his career on Wall Street in 1981.

This was a thoroughly fascinating conversation. Hartley’s wealth of knowledge made for a nuanced discussion that married the evolution of the business of asset management with why and how product structure innovation has unfolded as it has in private markets. We also dove into an area that is Hartley’s passion: venture and the innovation economy.

We covered:

• Hamilton Lane’s evolution scaling from 50 people in a single office to 800 people across 22 offices.
• The transformation from investment consulting into a solutions provider and asset manager for investors.
• The importance of data, tools, access, and portfolio construction to manage the increasing complexity of private markets.
• How will the wealth channel invest in private markets?
• The misconceptions of evergreens being “ATMs.”
• What is the “special sauce” in constructing an evergreen portfolio?
• How secondaries can help feed the evergreen fund engine.
• What defines a manager’s edge.
• What private markets strategies excite Hartley.

I’m really excited to share this conversation with you all, as it’s equal parts invigorating and informative.

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

Show Notes

00:00 Hamilton Lane -Then and Now

03:55 Hartley’s Origin Story

04:39 Hamilton Lane’s Consulting Roots

04:57 From Consulting to OCIO Partner

05:15 Scaling Changed the Job

06:53 Why Clients Still Need Help

07:15 Trillions in Private Markets

07:44 Mega-Managers and Complements

08:56 Finding Smaller Manager Alpha

09:20 Middle Market Opportunity

09:47 Why Companies Stay Private

10:56 Churn and New Entrants

11:17 GP Skillset Has Expanded

11:51 From Leverage to Operations

12:02 Data Transforms Underwriting

12:43 Hamilton Lane Data Advantage

13:33 Secondaries and Evergreen Rise

14:04 Evergreen Design and Liquidity

14:40 Why The Wealth Channel Prefers Evergreens

15:41 Evergreen Diversification Needs

16:47 Allocating Core vs Satellite

18:44 Evergreens Evolve Like ETFs

34:27 Closing

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Hamilton Lane Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are those of the speaker as of the date of recording and are subject to change. This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or investment product.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode dives into the nuances of the numbers to discuss valuations, underwriting, and the state of private markets.

We sat down with Brian Garfield, Managing Director and Global Head of the Portfolio Valuations practice within Lincoln International’s Valuations and Opinions Group.

Brian provides valuation and transaction opinion services to public and private alternative asset managers. He leads a team of over 225 professionals, providing strategic oversight for the Global Portfolio Valuation practice which includes both our Portfolio Valuation and Asset Backed Finance teams situated across North America, EMEA and APAC. Brian’s team also produces the Lincoln Private Market Index, Lincoln Senior Debt Index, and Lincoln Default Index. 

Brian and his team specialize in estimating the fair value for an array of financial instruments, including direct investments in senior, unitranche and subordinated loans, as well as preferred equity, common equity, option and warrants. His expertise also includes valuing secondary fund interests, co-investments, and GP stakes.

Prior to joining Lincoln, Brian spent more than six years at Duff & Phelps, LLC, where he advised a wide range of alternative asset managers.

Brian and I had a fascinating conversation about the current state of valuations and underwriting in private markets. We discussed:

• How is AI impacting SaaS company valuations?
• Taking stock of the current fundamentals of private companies.
• Is the “iceberg of deals” melting?
• How indices and benchmarks are bringing a “deeper level of transparency than price” to a market.
• How is continuation vehicle activity impacting private markets?
• How has the growth of evergreen funds impacted the world of valuations?

Thanks Brian for sharing your expertise, insights, and passion about private markets and valuations.

Show Notes

00:00 AI Hype Reality Check

01:01 A Message From Our Sponsor, Ultimus

01:57 Introducing Brian Garfield

04:12 Art Versus Science in Valuations

04:55 Tech Automation Transparency

06:07 Valuation For New Investors

07:35 Entry Price Anchor

08:51 From Entry To Exit

10:06 Cycles And The Public Versus Private Gap

10:45 Lincoln Private Market Index

11:55 AI And Software Bifurcation

16:36 Private Market Health Signals

17:49 2021 Vintage Leverage Trap

19:47 Exit Logjam Continuation Vehicles

21:06 Winners Path To Exits

22:37 Deal Flow Thawing

23:33 Capital Shifts and Yields

25:56 Underwriting Discipline Today

28:52 AI Winners and Specialists

30:38 Energy Shock and Valuations

35:11 Public Private Convergence

36:17 Indexes and Transparency

38:03 Evergreen Cadence Shift

41:26 Standardization and Data Tech

43:09 AI Querying and Backtesting

46:42 Wrap Up

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus

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 at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

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