Conference
Join Alter Domus’ Dave Traverso at the 23rd Annual Chicago Booth Private Equity Conference on Friday, March 1st. The event will provide private equity practitioners with valuable knowledge from both industry and academia. Reach out to Dave ahead of the conference if you’re also attending; he looks forward to meeting you there.
North America
Managing Director, Sales at Alter Domus North America
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Conference
Alter Domus is delighted to be the wellness sponsor at this year’s Women’s Private Equity Summit! Running from March 3-6 in Phoenix, the three-day summit is the leading conference for women in private equity. This is an exciting opportunity to meet with senior female leaders from across the industry, including our very own Lizzie Heil and Rachel Roth.
Also attending? Be sure to reach out to our team to set up a meeting at the event.
North America
Managing Director, North America
United States
Managing Director, Sales and Relationship Management, Private Equity
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Conference
Alter Domus’ Enkela Kosturi, committee member of LPEA’s Promotion Sounding Board, will be leading an insightful panel discussion at the LPEA Luxembourg Private Equity Seminar in Zurich. On 28 February at 4:30pm, she will be joined by Markus Benzler, Global Head Multi-Manager Private Equity at UBS, and Christoph Kausch, Managing Partner at MTIP, to discuss Swiss fund managers’ experience and success with Luxembourg funds.
The panel is set to share Swiss fund managers’ experience setting up Luxembourg funds, covering key considerations for private equity firms accessing Luxembourg through multi-managers and the impact of the current macro-economic environment. Don’t miss it!
If you’ll also be attending, be sure to reach out to Enkela to connect at the seminar.
Luxembourg
Director, Sales & Relationship Management
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News
Jessica Mead
Regional Executive North America
A recent article from Middle Market Growth discusses the increasing trend of private equity firms shifting their focus towards smaller deals and fundraising in the middle market. As larger deals become more competitive and expensive, firms are seeking opportunities in the middle market, which offers attractive valuations and growth potential. This shift has led to increased fundraising for middle-market-focused funds, as investors recognize the potential for higher returns and lower risk compared to larger deals.
Middle-market companies are often overlooked by larger private equity firms, creating a less competitive environment and more attractive investment opportunities. These companies typically have strong growth potential and can benefit from the operational expertise and capital provided by private equity firms. Additionally, middle-market companies are more likely to be founder-owned or family-owned businesses, which can provide a smoother transaction process and better alignment of interests.
Despite some recent successes, fundraising was down significantly year-over-year. “2023 was the most challenging year for private equity in the last decade because of high interest rates, slow exits, limited M&A and limited liquidity and challenging economic conditions,” Alter Domus’ Regional Executive North America, Jessica Mead said.
LPs want to see a proven track record and have deeper access to qualitative portfolio analysis.”
Jessica Mead
Read the full story here.
United States
Regional Executive North America
Conference
Join us at the 7th annual PERE Asia Summit in Singapore as our very own Albert Sugianto moderates the panel discussion: “European real estate debt funds ride the wave of a shifting real estate market.” This is a golden opportunity to gain insights into the investment strategies that European funds are utilizing to remain highly sought-after in the market.
Along with Albert, we are delighted to have Sum Tze Sheng and Jamie Loke join us as we sponsor this three-day summit. Alter Domus is excited to share our expertise in integrated global real estate solutions.
Did you know that we currently serve 80% of the largest real estate and infrastructure firms in the world? Don’t miss the chance to meet with the team at the PERE Asia Summit. Schedule a meeting now.
Singapore
Head of Sales & Relationship Management, Asia-Pacific
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Singapore
Head of Sales and Relationship Management, SEA
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News
As private markets scale up their sustainability efforts, time pressed ESG managers often have to set aside strategic planning to focus on day-to-day activities. But AI can give them precious hours back, helping ESG managers increase their impact on business, says Victoria Gillespie, Head of ESG at Alter Domus.
In an interview with Private Equity International, Gillespie says it’s the breadth and depth of their responsibilities, coupled with a glut of data, that is making it more challenging for EGS managers to be effective. AI can help control those issues.
“We see AI as … taking on some of the more mundane tasks to free them up for more strategic thinking, as well as enhancing their day-to-day processes by leveraging analytics,” she says.
Victoria Gillespie
AI can also improve risk management by looking at the materiality of regulations, a vital role given that regulation around ESG has grown exponentially over the past decade.
Read the article, which also includes Gillespie’s take on how to reduce the risks associated with AI use, on the Private Equity International website.
News
Simplifying European Long-Term Investment Fund regulations is expected to make it easier for investors to access private assets, but will it live up to its promise of enabling more players to enter the market?
Antonis Anastasiou
Group Head of Product Development
In the February 2024 edition of Private Equity International, Alter Domus Group Head of Product Development Antonis Anastasiou is among those weighing in on ELTIF 2.0.
Some observers say that despite the new rules, ELTIF remains a highly regulated regime with high barriers to entry and the advantages apply only to EU customers and retail segments. By contrast, Anastasiou says ELTIF 2.0 is a win-win for US asset managers:
“The ELTIF 2.0 setup gives US asset managers, for example, a regulated fund regime that they know here in Europe and that they can invest into as a parallel sleeve to the US master fund.”
Antonis Anastasiou
Anastasiou says the managers he’s spoken to are looking at a minimum launch size of €200 million-€500 million, while target sizes are expected to quickly move to the €1 billion-€2 billion range.
Read the complete article on the PEI website.
Luxembourg
Head of Corporate SPV & Regulatory Services
Conference
What’s new across the world of capital markets? Alter Domus is proudly sponsoring SF Vegas yet again, this year running from February 25-28th at the Aria Resort & Casino. The three-day event is the world’s largest capital markets conference for leaders within the structured finance industry.
Our team of experts will be there to share their knowledge and expertise with you. Be sure to stop by our booth to chat with the team and to learn about our complete range of solutions.
Our attendees include:
Get in touch with a member of our team ahead of the conference to set up a meeting. They look forward to seeing you there!
United States
Global Sector Head, Debt Capital Markets
United States
Head of Sales & Relationship Management North America
United States
Managing Director, Sales, North America
North America
Managing Director, Sales, North America
United States
Managing Director, Sales, North America
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News
In the third article in a four-part series on raising capital in Europe, we look at the updated European Long-Term Investment Funds regulation or ELTIF 2.0. Insights come from Antonis Anastasiou, Group Head of Product Development, and Conor O’Callaghan, Head of AIFM Ireland.
Anticipation is high in the alternative assets space. But to understand why fund managers are so engaged with ELTIF 2.0 – which came into effect on January 10 2024 – you must first appreciate why the original ELTIF framework did not live up to expectations.
In the eight years that it was in place, the original ELTIF regime managed to raise fewer than 100 funds with total assets under management estimated at approximately €7 billion. Tellingly, most European Union member states did not establish any. In our view – and this is an opinion which appears to be almost universal across the industry – the take up was slow because the original ELTIF was, in some instances, too restrictive. This was particularly true in relation to eligible investments which required a minimum €10 million value threshold, and the ability to invest other funds was limited to other ELTIFs. Additionally, there were limitations to marketing rules for retail investors, all of which contributed to ELTIF 1.0 not being widely adopted.
Fortunately, Article 37 of ELTIF 1.0 mandated that the European Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) had to start a review of the application of the regulation no later than June 9 2019. From this review, ELTIF 2.0 was born. In its November 2021 report to the European Parliament and Council, the Committee noted the key problems with the framework –on both the demand and supply sides.
So what has changed?
On the demand side, with the ‘democratization’ of alternative assets, the enhanced regulatory regime promises to support managers in addressing the retail market, and to broaden investment opportunities. Under ELTIF 2.0, the entry barriers for individual investors have been removed, including the minimum investment threshold of €10,000 and net-worth requirements.
One of the main components of ELTIF 2.0 – which we discussed in the opening article of this series looking at pre-marketing – is the ability to use the European marketing passport to distribute an ELTIF 2.0 product. This greatly simplifies the distribution setup and removes the retail barriers of ELTIF 1.0, although a suitability assessment, as required under MIFID II, still applies to retail investors.
On the supply, or product, side the changes in ELTIF 2.0 aim to remove the restrictions that hindered the success of ELTIF 1.0. The key changes as outlined in the table below, coupled with the relaxation in redemption limitations provide for the desired flexibility that was absent in the original regime.
Supply Side Changes
| ELTIF 1.0 | ELTIF 2.0 | |
| Threshold for Eligible Assets | 70% | 55% |
| Maximum concentration limit | 10% | 20% |
| Borrowing limit (retail) | 30% | 50% |
| Max market cap of equity or debt issuers | EUR 500m | EUR 1.5bn |
| Minimum Investments in real Assets | EUR 10m | EUR 1.0m |
| Ability to invest in AIFs (Fund of Funds) | No | Yes |
| Ability to invest in underlying securitizations | No | Yes |
| Investment in non-EU assets | No | Yes |
Even before launch, interest in ELTIF 2.0 was gathering momentum. As we mentioned in the second article of this series, some of the biggest players in the market, from Blackstone to KKR to Apollo, were already engaging with this new framework, looking to make the most of the regulations. But what should fund managers who are looking to raise capital in Europe be thinking about?
In the fourth and final article in this series, we will be taking a closer look at the expected impact of ELTIF 2.0 as well as the challenges and considerations for managers and service providers. Now that ELTIF 2.0 is live, what should you be considering, what are the challenges and how might you manage them?
Learn more about Alter Domus’ AIFM Services and Private Equity Solutions.
Services
While they offer significant opportunities, OEF characteristics also come with enhanced commitments. Marry these with the nuances of alternative asset classes and you need experts to unlock the opportunity.
Contact us today to learn more about Alter Domus’ open-ended fund services.
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Luxembourg
Head of Corporate SPV & Regulatory Services
Ireland
Head of AIFM Ireland
News
Alter Domus sector heads Tim Toska, Greg Myers and Anita Lyse share their views on how they expect private equity, private debt, and real assets markets to perform in 2024.
Private Equity: outlook for 2024
Tim Toska
Global Sector Head, Private Equity
What to watch out for 2024:
The private equity industry goes into 2024 coming off the most challenging period for the asset class in more than a decade.
The combination of rising interest rates, higher acquisition finance costs and geopolitical dislocation have had a chilling effect on year-on-year buyout, exit and fundraising activity.
According to law firm White & Case, global buyout deal value has almost halved in 2023, falling to $442.2 billion over the first nine months of the year from $864.96 billion over the same period in 2022. The drop in year-on-on-year exit value has been similarly precipitous, contracting 51% to $240.75 billion over the same period.
Jammed up deal markets have had a direct impact on fundraising. As exits have dried up, managers have been unable to realize value and return cash to investors. According to Burgiss data quoted by Bloomberg, private equity limited partner (LP) cash flows have turned deeply negative, with the gap between capital calls and distributions widening to levels greater than the observed in the depths of the 2008 global financial crisis.
The lack of liquidity has left LPs with limited headroom to make allocations to the next vintage of funds, with private equity fundraising cooling to its slowest rate in years, according to Pitchbook figures cited by Bloomberg.
The exit imperative: liquidity the priority for 2024
Looking ahead to 2024, the number one priority for the general partner (GP) community will be unblocking the fundraising bottleneck by getting cash back into the hands of investors, and the best way to do that will be to fire up exit deal value again.
According to Bain & Co analysis, buyout funds alone are sitting on an all-time high $2.8 trillion of unexited assets in their portfolios – more than four times higher than the thresholds recorded during the global financial crisis. Finding buyers for these assets and returning cash to LPs will alleviate the pressure on investor cash flows and get fundraising moving again.
Of course, the challenge for GP vendors during the last 18 months has been to find buyers willing to meet valuation expectations for assets. As interest rates have climbed, establishing consensus on pricing has become increasingly difficult. No GP has wanted to offload a good asset at bargain valuation at the bottom of the cycle, while buyers have found it very difficult to structure deals when there is limited visibility on future earnings and financing costs. The result has been M&A stalemate.
Creativity required
GPs will be exploring all options available to them for realizing liquidity and returning cash to investors in 2024 if conventional exit routes (strategic sales, secondary buyouts and IPOs) remain becalmed.
The market has already observed and tested what some of the options could be. More GPs are now exploring GP-led secondaries deals when planning exit routes, and are expected to continue doing so in numbers in the year ahead.
These structures, which see selected assets placed into continuation funds, give LPs the option to take liquidity or rollover their stakes in the asset into the continuation fund. For GPs with good assets, but under growing pressure to make distributions to investors, a continuation fund can provide tidy solution that allows for LPs to receive cash without managers having to sell off prized portfolio companies at bargain prices in bear market.
According to Jefferies, these GP-led deals account for 42 percent of overall secondaries deal value in H1 2023, which although down on the share observed in. the bull market of 2021, is significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
LP-led deals (where investors sell their stakes in funds to secondaries funds) will also be a key dynamic in the asset class in 2024. LPs have increasingly taken direct control of their cashflows by using secondaries deals to expedite routes to liquidity. LP-lead deals accounted for less than half of total secondaries deal value in 2021, but share has climbed to 58% in 2023, according to Jefferies.
Secondaries sales will remain an important tool for investors in 2024, especially when elite managers come to market with new vintages. LPs who don’t have immediate access to liquidity to allocate to these blue-ribband GPs will turn to the secondaries market to exit existing holdings in order to make commitments to their preferred firms.
Another route to liquidity GPs are exploring are NAV loans, where managers take out debt secured against the assets in fund and use the proceeds to make distributions. These arrangements are still relatively novel (and not without controversy, as distributions can be recalled if GPs can’t repay the NAV debt), but some high-profile private equity brands have put NAV loans in place to make distributions and others may follow suit.
Traditional exit routes: reason for optimism
There is growing, but still cautious, optimism that conventional exit routes will also start to unfreeze in 2024.
The outlook for interest is underpinning this sanguinity. After enduring the steepest pace of rate hikes in more than four decades central banks around the world do appear to have hit peak rates.
GPs would prefer rates to be lower than they are, but even if rates do stay at current elevated levels, there is at least some clarity in the market on what interest rate assumptions to build into deal models. This will go a long way to recalibrating buyer and seller pricing expectations, narrow the bid-ask spread on valuations and hopefully get deal markets flowing again.
There are already early signs that a more stable outlook is opening up traditional IPO and M&A markets. In 2023, buyout firm GTCR went ahead with the largest deal in its history with the $18.5 billion carve-out of payments company Worldpay from Fidelity National Information Services, in transaction that enjoyed strong support from debt markets.
After challenging year, GPs will be hoping that more landmark transactions will come to market in 2024.
Private Debt: outlook for 2024
Greg Myers
Global Sector Head, Debt Capital Markets
What to watch out for in 2024:
There haven’t been many asset classes that have benefitted from the current cycle of interest rate hikes. Private debt is one of them.
Despite volatile stock markets, a sharp contraction in M&A deal flow and stultified leveraged loan and high yield bond markets, private debt managers have continued to secure investor capital and find opportunities to deploy capital in a tough environment.
According to Pitchbook private debt delivered double-digit year-on-year fundraising growth in 2023, putting the market on track to deliver annual fundraising in excess of $200 billion for the fourth year in a row.
The strong performance of the asset class in 2023 has positioned private debt to potentially deliver one of its best vintages ever in 2024.
As base rates are now sitting in the region of five percent, private debt managers can realistically expect to produce yields in the 10 percent to 12 percent range, according to analysis from Barings. The gap to equity returns is not very wide, and with private debt consistently delivering high, double-digit distribution rates, the risk-reward dynamics presented by the asset class w2ill be among the most compelling for investors in 2024.
Private debt managers will also continue to benefit from supply-demand dislocation in wider lending markets. Syndicated loan and high yield markets have been stung by higher interest rates and all but shuttered, with banks reluctant to take on syndication risk at such an unpredictable period in the credit cycle.
According to White & Case figures, leveraged loan and high yield bond issuance across North America and Western and Southern Europe over the first nine months of 2023 declined by almost a fifth year-on-year from $1.13 trillion in 2022 to $920.54 billion this year.
Tightening loan and bond markets and cautious banks have allowed private debt managers to cherry pick deals and issue debt not only at higher interest rates, but also with lower leverage and lender-friendly capital structures.
The strength of the $1.5 trillion private credit space will drive ongoing and significant evolution of the asset class, with 2024 shaping to be a groundbreaking year.
In the second half of 2023 a growing cohort of banks made strategic moves into private debt, either as cornerstone investors in private lending firms, as seen in Rabobank’s investment in sustainable private lender Colesco; through partnering with private markets platforms, as seen with Societe Generale planning to raise a €10 billion credit fund with Brookfield; or launching dedicated private credit managers inhouse, as Deutsche Bank has done.
More banks, nervous about losing lucrative streams of leveraged loan and high yield fee income to competition from private debt, are expected to make similar strategic moves and step into private credit in some shape or form in 2024. This will blur the lines between the two types of providers and reconfigure the way borrowers look at their financing options in the future.
The one cloud that will hang over private debt in 2024, however, will be looming default risk.
Private debt as an asset class only really came onto the radar as a credible alternative to conventional bank-led lending after the 2008 financial crisis, when banks retrenched from the market to rebuild balance sheets and manage legacy portfolios.
Since then, private debt assets under management have expanded at pace, as managers seized the opportunity to fill the gap in the market left by the banks. The asset class, however, has never been truly tested through a downcycle and borrowers and investors will be watching closely to see how managers behave when portfolios do become stressed.
Bank of America estimates that the private debt default rate could reach 5% by early 2024, exceeding default rates for syndicated loans. From 2024 onwards, roughly a third of deals in debt fund portfolios will be maturing within 30 months, according to Bloomberg.
Many of these maturing credits would have been issued in bull credit markets and characterized by high levels of leverage and loose terms. Some managers, who were eager to gain market share and took on more marginal transactions with aggressive capital structures, will be particularly exposed.
Bigger platforms didn’t have to chase the market in 2021 and 2022 and are likely to have more resilient portfolios, as well as the resource to manage out any credits that may fall into stress. Newer managers with smaller teams will come under much more pressure if portfolios do become stressed.
This is likely to drive a bifurcation of the market in 2024, as top tier private debt funds take up a growing share of private debt deal flow and fundraising, while smaller firms find that their teams stretched as they try to shepherd current portfolios through distress at the same time as trying to originate new deals.
Evidence of this bifurcation has already started to emerge, with Pitchbook reporting that the number of funds new private debt funds closing has contracted by more than 25 percent, even though year-on-year private debt fundraising value has climbed. This signals that LPs have already begun to focus on relationships with fewer, bigger private debt funds, which are becoming increasingly dominant forces in the market.
Great opportunity lies ahead for private debt managers in 2024 – but there may be fewer managers around to take advantage of it.
Real Assets: outlook for 2024
Anita Lyse
Global Sector Head, Real Assets
What to watch out for in 2024:
Real assets managers will be hoping that cooling inflation and interest rate stability improve conditions for fundraising and investment in 2024 after a difficult 12 months.
Real assets have felt the full force of geopolitical and macro-economic volatility. According to PERE, real estate fundraising contracted to $92.8 billion during the first nine months of 2023, a 38 percent decline on the $150.4 billion secured over the same period last year. The current run rate could see real estate fundraising come in at the lowest annual level observed since 2012. Infrastructure fundraising has slowed significantly too, with CBRE analysis of Infralogic data showing a decline to the lowest levels in more than a decade.
The headwinds that real assets investors have faced through the course of 2023 will persist into 2024.
In the real estate space higher capital costs and conservative underwriting will a remain a feature of the market according to JLL analysis, as companies reassess post-pandemic office requirements; logistics operators reconfigure warehouse portfolios amidst pressures on consumer spending; and investors take longer to make decisions when deploying capital.
In infrastructure, meanwhile, leveraged plays in sub-sectors such as telecoms towers and utilities will remain challenging. According to State Street, rising interest rates have made investments in competing, higher income asset classes more attractive than infrastructure plays, while climbing energy costs and falling global exports weigh on bottom line profitability. According to CBRE these dynamics have seen investors demur from committing to long-term, capital-intensive projects at a high point in the interest rate cycle.
There is nevertheless a degree of cautious optimism that the market backdrop for real assets investment strategies will improve in 2024, albeit below the levels achieved in the bull market of 2021 and early 2022. Interest rates will be the key barometer for a recovery in activity, with JLL expecting a steadier market to emerge should inflation continue its downward trajectory and interest rates stabilize. This could help to bring buyer and seller pricing expectations closer together following a period of volatile pricing shifts and limited deal flow on which to establish consensus on valuations.
In a trend that mirrors developments in other alternative asset classes, investors will commit the capital they do have available to bigger managers with large investment platforms in an effort to mitigate downside risk in a still choppy deal market.
Blackstone, for example, has raised at least €4 billion towards its seventh flagship European real estate fund since launching in April 2023, securing more than $3 billion of commitments in Q3 2023 alone. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), meanwhile, has raised €5.6 billion towards the €12 billion targeted for its fifth flagship, while Artemis Real Estate Partners closed its Artemis Fund IV on $2.2 billion, beating its $1.5 billion target.
Large real assets managers have also had the scale and resources to ramp up new strategies where they see opportunity and secure investor support. Real estate debt is one area that has seen a significant uptick in activity. Bain Capital and TPG are among the firms to launch new dedicated real estate debt strategies, while PIMCO closed its sophomore Commercial Real Estate Debt Fund on $3 billion to beat its $1 billion target.
Prolonged fundraising and reduced capital inflows in a slow exit market will also see managers across the board rethink their own operational models and running costs. Outsourcing back-office and middle office infrastructure will move firmly into the frame as firms prioritize reducing staff costs and other overheads.
One subsector that will animate real assets fundraising and deal activity for managers of all size is energy transition.
Delivering net zero emissions will require substantial investment, with McKinsey forecasting that $9.2 trillion of annual capital spending will be required between 2021 and 2050 to meet decarbonization targets.
Government and corporate commitments to securing the required investment to meet net zero target have insulated renewable energy and decarbonization projects from market volatility, with capital continuing to flow into these areas despite dislocation in other segments of the real assets space. The US Inflation Reduction Act and Europe’s Green Deal and REPowerEU initiative are among the global initiatives that have encouraged private sector investment into decarbonization.
For real assets managers these dynamics has driven substantial investor appetite for decarbonization and renewables investment strategies.
According to the Long-term Infrastructure Investors Association (LTIA), funds dedicated or partly dedicated to renewable energy have accounted for more than 90% of overall infrastructure fundraising since 2019. This secular pivot towards strategies with an energy transition theme has fed a swelling pipeline of renewable energy deal opportunities, with CBRE analysis of Infralogic data putting global live deal pipelines for renewables at around $3.6 trillion.
Real assets deal activity and valuations wills also become increasingly shaped by broader environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns that extend beyond energy transition in wider areas of sustainability and energy and water conservation.
In infrastructure and real estate ESG has shifted from a “nice to have” to an essential part of a license to operate. Through the course of 2024 we expect ESG to become an important element of asset valuations, with widening valuation gaps between assets where ESG is embedded into operations and assets where ESG hasn’t been prioritized.
As market conditions improve through 2024 other areas of the market will rally, but energy transition and ESG will remain a key long-term driver for real assets fundraising and deal activity.
United States
Global Sector Head, Private Equity
United States
Global Sector Head, Debt Capital Markets
Luxembourg
Global Sector Head, Real Assets
