After a record-setting 2024, Europe’s private equity market entered 2025 under pressure from geopolitical tensions, macroeconomic uncertainty, and waning investor confidence. 

Deal activity declined notably in Q1, with total value dropping 24.6% and a sharp pivot toward smaller, strategic add-on deals indicating a defensive investment posture. Exit activity also slowed, with a 25.2% drop in exit count and extended holding periods, as firms waited out volatile public markets and weak valuation multiples. 

Yet some regions, like the Nordics and DACH, outperformed thanks to local stability and stronger monetary frameworks. On the fundraising front, European PE firms raised €23.7 billion in Q1, with strong interest in mid-market vehicles and new entrants like Thoma Bravo signaling optimism. 

Finsum: Despite near-term caution, the market showed resilience and adaptability, laying the groundwork for a more stable second half.

Retired financial advisors consistently report that thoughtful succession planning plays a major role in their retirement satisfaction, according to Raymond James surveys conducted since 2018. 

One of the first key steps is identifying a successor early, whether through personal networks, firm support, or tech tools like Raymond James’ Practice Exchange. Once a successor is chosen, communicating the plan clearly and proactively to clients helps ease their concerns and ensures continuity in relationships. 

Many advisors delay these conversations due to anxiety, but regular updates build trust and allow clients to transition comfortably. Another often overlooked element is preparing mentally for retirement—knowing how you'll spend your time, whether it’s mentoring, traveling, or simply relaxing. 

Finsum: Ultimately, planning both the handoff and your post-career lifestyle is crucial to making your retirement both smooth and fulfilling.

Broadridge’s Fi360 has rolled out a new tool designed to help plan advisers and sponsors evaluate retirement income and stable value products with a more tailored, due-diligence-focused approach. The Retirement Product Evaluator, powered by CANNEX data, enables users to customize assessments across 60 criteria, allowing them to prioritize features based on the needs of a specific plan or participant base. 

With interest in retirement income rising—90% of large institutional clients now rank it as a top plan design priority—the tool aims to meet growing demand for clarity and transparency in annuity evaluation. 

Unlike mutual fund scoring tools, this evaluator avoids rigid scoring and instead invites a deeper, more nuanced analysis given the complexity of the products involved. While adoption of in-plan annuities remains low due to fiduciary and recordkeeping hurdles, Broadridge hopes its tool can demystify options and boost comfort levels among plan sponsors. 

Finsum: Already in use by major firms, the evaluator reflects an industry shift toward equipping retirement plans with tools for both income generation and long-term stability.

While it’s often said that changing broker-dealers results in losing 30% of your client book, the actual retention rate depends heavily on where you're leaving from, where you're going, and how the transition is handled. Advisors moving from banks to independence often do face steeper losses, due to legal and structural barriers, while those shifting between independent broker-dealers typically experience much smaller attrition. 

The key to maintaining client loyalty lies in how the move is communicated—clients are more likely to stay if they understand how the switch benefits them, not just the advisor. Advisors should frame the conversation around enhanced service offerings, broader product access, reduced fees, or improved technology and stability. 

A real-world example saw one advisor retain 98% of clients by clearly articulating these benefits during a move from a failing firm to a more robust platform. 

Finsum: Ultimately, when advisors lead with client-first messaging, transitions can not only preserve but even grow their practice.

State Street Global Advisors has launched a new series of target date funds—called the Target Retirement IndexPlus Strategy—that includes a 10% allocation to private markets managed by Apollo. 

These funds, structured as collective investment trusts (CITs), pair State Street’s index strategies for public markets with Apollo’s evergreen fund providing exposure to private credit, equity, and real assets. Brendan Curran of State Street likens this evolution to shifting into a new gear in retirement investing, acknowledging the growing significance of private assets in diversified portfolios. 

The collaboration follows earlier efforts between State Street and Apollo, including the launch of a private credit ETF. Apollo views this as part of its broader push to tap into the wealth management space and expand access to private investments, aiming to grow its assets in this segment to $150 billion by 2029. 

Finsum: The launch reflects a broader trend of asset managers integrating private markets into retirement solutions to meet demand for diversification and improved outcomes.