Displaying items by tag: alts

Public companies’ Bitcoin holdings jumped nearly 40% in Q3 2025, even as the cryptocurrency’s price stayed below $115,000. According to Bitwise, 172 firms now collectively hold about 1.02 million BTC—roughly 4.8% of total supply—driven by large additions from players like Strategy and Japan’s Metaplanet. 

Despite this record accumulation, enthusiasm across crypto equities has cooled, with companies such as Metaplanet seeing share prices tumble more than 70% from their peaks. 

Analysts suggest Bitcoin’s muted response reflects low market liquidity and the nature of institutional buying, which mostly occurs off exchanges and doesn’t immediately move prices. Broader macroeconomic uncertainty, from renewed trade tensions to shifting Fed policy expectations, has also dampened risk appetite. 

Finsum: Many market observers remain optimistic, expecting Bitcoin to regain upward momentum once retail demand and liquidity return later in the year.

Although the term “ESG” has become controversial and sometimes viewed as a marketing label, about 69% of institutional asset owners still report using it—primarily for consistency. Many prefer alternative labels: 57% use “sustainable investment,” 53% “sustainability,” and 52% “responsible investment.” 

ESG considerations now apply to an average of 44% of asset owners’ AUM globally, up from 42% last year. In 2025, 20% of respondents said they apply ESG to more than 75% of their portfolios, and 10% said ESG applies to 100% of their assets. 

Asset owners increasingly see ESG as aligned with fiduciary duty: 61% agree ESG supports that role, up from 53% in 2024. 

Finsum: The biggest barrier to broader ESG adoption is concern over impacts on investment returns or a lack of standardized data and reporting. 

Global real estate is shifting from traditional “visible” assets like office towers and shopping malls to “invisible” property such as data centers. These facilities have become essential infrastructure as cloud computing and AI workloads demand massive amounts of power, cooling, and networking. According to CBRE, 95% of major investors plan to boost their allocations to data centers in 2025, with many committing $500 million or more.

The surge in demand is driving enormous capital requirements, with hyperscale facilities costing billions to build. Boston Consulting Group estimates that $1.8 trillion will be needed globally by 2030 to keep pace with AI and cloud growth. 

Despite funding challenges, investors continue to reallocate away from conventional real estate sectors toward alternatives like data centers, battery storage, and related infrastructure. While construction costs and financing hurdles pose risks, institutional capital remains active, signaling that real estate’s future will be increasingly tied to digital infrastructure.

Finsum: Artificial intelligence may also reshape physical office demand as companies adjust headcount and space needs.

Private equity leaders are cautioning that while industry assets are likely to keep expanding, the number of firms competing for those dollars could shrink dramatically. KKR’s CFO Robert Lewin and Apollo’s president Jim Zelter both suggested that smaller managers, burdened by high fixed costs and limited fundraising capacity, may not survive the next cycle. 

Lewin forecasted a wave of organic consolidation over the next five years, while Zelter warned that many firms may already have raised their last fund without realizing it. Larger players, by contrast, are positioned to thrive, offering a wider array of products and attracting investors eager to simplify their GP relationships. 

Consolidation could also accelerate through acquisitions, with bigger firms absorbing weaker rivals. 

Finsum: The same pressures are expected to spread into venture capital, where scale and distribution strength are becoming just as critical.

Recent changes allow 401(k) plans to hold private market and alternative investments, opening the door for managed accounts to expand their offerings. Managed accounts, which provide professionally managed, customizable portfolios, are seeing rapid growth, with assets reaching $13.7 trillion in 2024 and net flows topping $811 billion. 

Incorporating private equity, venture capital, private credit, and real estate into these accounts requires robust technology for reporting, valuations, and liquidity management. 

Firms like InvestCloud are creating platforms that enable scalable, model-based access to private market investments, allowing advisors to integrate these assets alongside traditional ETFs and mutual funds. Such technology also supports liquidity solutions, like lending against securities, so investors can access cash without disrupting long-term strategies. 

Finsum: With regulatory adjustments, including tweaks to the Accredited Investor rules and the 401(k) shift, managed accounts are positioned to broaden access to previously hard-to-reach alternative investments.