Geert Dekker

Interest in investing in private markets, private credit in particular, may have surged, but that growth is just the beginning. “We see a structural shift towards private credit,” says Joan Solotar, global head of Private Wealth Solutions at Blackstone.

Next year, private market investors should focus on mid-market companies with low debt and potential for operational improvement, says Dirkjan Schuiten, head of private markets at ABN Amro. This approach contrasts with the less reliable strategies of financial engineering and betting on rising valuations, which are unlikely to yield desired returns in the near future.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management wants to use more engagement to encourage companies, institutions and governments to improve sustainability reporting. “Especially on the fixed-income side, there is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of data quality and disclosure,” said Edith Siermann, chief investment officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management b.v.

Despite a call by the ECB, European financial institutions do not seem to be immediately covered by the new corporate responsibility directive. A majority of member states reportedly do not want to decide on this until after the directive comes into force for non-financial companies. 

Banks are making some progress when it comes to KYC processes by bridging  regulatory expectations and client cooperation challenges.

Dutch pension funds are striving to address concerns about the high performance fees they pay to private equity funds by increasing accountability and explaining the dilemmas and choices surrounding these investments.

European authorities are speeding up negotiations on the final text of the so-called Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD, also known as the CS3D). Before the end of this year, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council want to reach an agreement on it.

Amidst the ongoing transition to a new pension system in the Netherlands, Dutch pension fund managers are finding little bandwidth these days to explore fresh investment ideas for the coming year. Against this backdrop, asset managers face hurdles in gaining their attention, with only essential risk management being the focal point for many.

Real estate dominates the investment portfolios of top athletes, especially footballers, but experts caution on the risks and stress diversification.

Once a rising star among investment options, private credit now faces headwinds as defaults increase and traditional banks re-enter the fray as competitors.