Max Severijns

The private markets model is edging into the US retail retirement system, where policymakers are moving to allow 401(k) investors to gain exposure to private assets, potentially opening up a trillion dollar market to alternative managers as early as February.

The Democrats are on track to win the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026. For investors, that is usually just noise. Now, however, even the most committed progressive has to admit the timing is terrible. Things were going so well.

In private credit, institutional investors face their biggest risk not in the asset class itself, but in selecting the general partner. Interviews with private market insiders suggest the real danger is a lack of scrutiny of managers.

While ESG may be politically sensitive, Invesco reports that inflows continue to build. Natixis IM’s US Media Summit in New York showed just how sharply opinions on the theme diverge across the Atlantic.

Dan Ariely has devoted his career to understanding irrational behavior. According to the Duke University professor of psychology and behavioral economics, ESG investors are the perfect test group. They focus, he says, on what is easy to measure rather than on what actually matters for returns.

At the Deloitte Private Art & Finance Conference in New York, art investors did something almost unheard of: they dismantled the investment case for their own asset class.

New loan failures have reignited debate over the health of private credit. The bankruptcy of Renovo Home Partners last week has drawn warnings about the quality of the underwriting and possible systemic risks. Industry veterans push back, saying media coverage borders on sensationalism.

Two major European cross-border asset management relationships are losing momentum, with Italian financial groups reassessing their reliance on French partners.

Two weeks ago, we wrote that gold was poised to skyrocket. Last week, it took its biggest hit in a decade. Markets have a way of humbling both investors and journalists, and few assets do it as reliably as the yellow metal.

The problem with private credit is not that it might blow up the financial system. It’s that it might just not be a very good investment.