What are the latest and greatest payment trends, products and technology solutions available in today’s market? Join Alter Domus’ Jeff Sykes as he attends the three-day ePayConnect conference from March 11-13 in Orlando. Connect with leaders like Jeff to dive deep into payment channels, including legacy systems and faster payments innovations.

If you’re also attending, be sure to reach out to Jeff ahead of the conference to set up a meeting.

Join Alter Domus’ Dave Traverso at the 23^rd Annual Chicago Booth Private Equity Conference on Friday, March 1^st. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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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.

Could AI answer the SOS of ESG managers drowning in responsibility and tasks?

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.

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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.

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What’s new across the world of capital markets? Alter Domus is proudly sponsoring SF Vegas yet again, this year running from February 25-28^th 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:

• Greg Myers
• Tom Gandolfo
• Lora Peloquin
• Devin Joyce
• Randall Reider
• Kennedy Glasscock
• Tim Ruxton
• Jennifer Jehle
• John Coviello

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!

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?

Demand side

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.

Supply side

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

Ready for the new regulatory framework 

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.