Displaying items by tag: alts

The democratization of private markets is accelerating as asset managers, regulators, and ETF innovators work to expand investor access to what was once an institutional-only domain. Once viewed as opaque, illiquid, and high-cost, private markets have grown from $4 trillion to $15 trillion in assets over the past decade, as investors seek diversification, income, and long-term growth beyond public markets. 

ETFs are now at the forefront of this movement, with products like the SPDR SSGA Apollo IG Public & Private Credit ETF (PRIV) breaking new ground by offering direct exposure to private credit within a liquid wrapper. credit CLOs, each offering a distinct way to capture the returns of the private economy. 

As demand grows, firms like VanEck note that private market managers are increasingly expanding into wealth management and retirement channels, further broadening investor participation. 

Finsum: The push to make private assets more accessible marks one of the most disruptive and promising frontiers in modern investing.

Rapid Growth and Popularity: Interval funds are gaining momentum, with 19 new launches through May 2025, on pace to surpass the 2024 record of 27. Assets under management have grown nearly 40% annually, reaching almost $100 billion as of April 2025.

Unique Structure and Flexibility: Unlike mutual funds, interval funds allow quarterly redemptions, offering a semi-liquid structure that enables managers to invest in less-liquid, higher-return opportunities like asset-backed securities or CLO equity. 

Advantage in Volatile Markets: During market dislocations, interval funds can act as opportunistic buyers rather than forced sellers, taking advantage of discounted high-quality assets when others are liquidating positions, demonstrated during the COVID-19 sell-off in early 2020.

Finsum: This structure better aligns fund liquidity with long-term investments, and advisors should track the horizon for their clients

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.