September 23rd, 2025
Good morning, Dakota.
Today’s briefing is all about big moves in private markets and wealth management: Stanford’s Wallace is doubling down on fewer, deeper partnerships to drive top-quartile returns, while OneDigital secures $2.3B from Stone Point and CPP to supercharge its insurance and wealth platforms. From BCI’s £2.5B UK property debt push to Hunter Point staking $5B in Willow Tree Credit Partners, capital is flowing—and so are strategic hires, from Octagon building out private credit to Hightower tapping a former BlackRock exec.
As Wallace reminds us: “You’re never going to get enough of your endowment to work to have a high conviction portfolio if you’re not there first, if you’re not there early.”
Here’s what else is making headlines this morning…
Institutional Investors
Wealth Channel
Private Funds
Dakota’s August 2025 Public Pension Brief shows continued momentum across 350+ public pension funds nationwide, with private credit leading the charge. Funds are increasingly targeting real estate value-add, data infrastructure, and energy transition strategies, while several systems—like Chicago Teachers and Arkansas PERS—are updating pacing plans and allocations toward alternatives. Leadership changes and new consultant hires underscore a broader evolution in public pension investment strategy and execution.
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Stanford’s Wallace: Concentration Beats Diversification in Private Markets
Stanford Management Company CEO Robert Wallace has reshaped the $40B endowment by cutting its manager roster by more than two-thirds, favoring a high-conviction, relationship-driven approach. In private equity and venture capital, he argues, fewer, deeper partnerships are critical given high fees, wide outcome dispersion, and the dominance of a small handful of top performers.
“We needed to have a much higher conviction, a more concentrated portfolio with fewer partners… with whom we could develop a strong, trustful, knowledgeable relationship.”
His message: in private markets, success depends less on breadth and more on being early, selective, and aligned.
Searches
APG Infra Debt Mandate: APG gave Schroders Capital a €425M ($501M) infrastructure debt mandate—its first move into the asset class. The deal includes an impact sleeve for projects tied to climate, energy transition, and sustainability, and makes APG a cornerstone investor in Schroders’ new European mid-market strategy.
Haverhill Retirement Searches: The pension is looking to place $20–25M in small cap growth and $18–25M in small cap value. Proposals are due Oct. 17 and 24, limited to commingled vehicles or SMAs.
Boston Retirement Finalists:
Private Credit: Mesirow, Galvanize, Pathlight
Real Estate: Starwood, Related (opportunistic); Tristan, Oaktree, Basis (debt); Artemis, Berkshire, Blue Owl, Brookfield, Intercontinental, TA Realty (value-add)
Investments
BCI Property Debt: QuadReal plans £2.5B ($3.4B) in UK property debt over 3–5 years, targeting data centers, housing, and industrial, raising the UK’s share of its global portfolio from 15% to 20%.
La Caisse Acquires Edify: CAD 1B ($723M) deal for Australian renewable energy and battery storage company, including two hybrid solar-battery projects for Rio Tinto and the Australian government.
Washington SIB Moves: $1.2B allocated across infrastructure, real estate, and private equity; added PineStone as its seventh global equity manager.
Howard County PE & Credit: $30M to HarbourVest Dover Street XII (secondaries) and $25M to Kennedy Lewis Capital Partners IV (distressed credit), completing 2025 pacing plan.
Mubadala Eyes Getir Exit: Exploring full sale of Turkish investments, with advanced talks for car-rental unit and ongoing discussions for delivery and finance businesses.
WEALTH CHANNEL
OneDigital Lands $2.3B from Stone Point, CPP to Drive Growth
OneDigital landed a $2.3B majority investment from Stone Point Capital and CPP Investments, valuing the firm at over $7B and fueling expansion across insurance, wealth, and retirement services. The deal, expected to close in Q4, marks OneDigital’s fourth recapitalization in 25 years and underscores confidence in its founder-led leadership and five core business verticals.
“This partnership gives us the fuel to keep building – investing in our people, advancing our technology, and showing up stronger for clients,” said CEO Adam Bruckman. OneDigital’s wealth arm manages $142B in assets, including $10B for high-net-worth clients, and aims to grow both organically and through acquisitions.
Deal Advisors: Evercore, Ardea Partners, and Barclays advised OneDigital, with Kirkland & Ellis as legal counsel. Stone Point was advised by J.P. Morgan Securities and RBC Capital Markets, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett providing legal counsel and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison handling debt financing.
M&A + Investments
Elevation Point acquired a minority stake in Loxahatchee, a new multi-family office in FL formed by a seven-member UBS breakaway team managing $1.4B. Led by Andrew J. Plum and Thomas J. Cullen, the firm targets high-net-worth families and institutions. Elevation Point is backed by Emigrant Partners.
Concurrent Investment closed acquisition of San Diego-based retirement planning firm Next, which advises on $10B in 401(k), stock, and benefits assets. Concurrent is backed by Merchant Investment Management.
EisnerAmper acquired Boston-based Bolotin Financial ($1.1B AUM), joining its Prosperity platform. Offices also in Florida; deal terms undisclosed.
Aprio, backed by Charlesbank, will add Midwest-based Mize CPAs and Prism Financial ($1.8B AUM) to its RIA. Key partners to join Aprio; closing expected ~Nov 1.
Galway-backed MAI Capital acquired $612M RIA J.W. Coons Advisors (Columbus, OH / Naples, FL). MAI had $31.2B AUM as of June 30; deal terms undisclosed.
WH Ireland Wealth Sale: UK firm WH Ireland to sell wealth management business to Oberon Investments for £1M ($1.35M), closing expected by Oct 31.
People Moves
RayJay → Commonwealth Team: San Antonio-based team led by Alan and Ian Chase joins Raymond James from Commonwealth Financial Network, bringing $170M in client assets.
Carson Wealth → GCD Advisors Team: Greg Diamond and Neil Cohen join Carson’s Palatine, IL office, managing $300M in AUM.
Aspiriant Hires Gretchen Hollstein: Veteran advisor joins as director of wealth management in San Francisco after 20 years at Litman Gregory.
Hightower Appoints James Patrick Dunne: Former BlackRock exec named head of operations and service at the $308B mega-RIA.
PRIVATE FUNDS
At Hunter Point, GP Financing is a “Four-Season Sport”
Hunter Point Capital is betting that GP-level financing will become a core allocation tool in private markets, bridging widening liquidity gaps with minority GP stakes, NAV-based lending, and preferred equity solutions.
“There is a liquidity gap, if you will, even for the best firms… everything that we're doing here at Hunter Point in GP preferred financing, we are putting in place these creative solutions to address that gap,” said Richard Golaszewski, co-head of GP financing solutions.
Founded five years ago, Hunter Point supports GPs with growth capital, strategic transitions, and operational scaling, offering both equity and credit-based solutions. Golaszewski emphasizes that the firm’s dual-product capability and hands-on apprenticeship model differentiate it in a crowded market, noting that GP financing is not cyclical but “a four-season sport,” with opportunities in every part of the liquidity cycle.
Fundraising
Ventech Capital VI: Paris-based multi-sector VC closed €175M ($206M), its largest fund to date, with 95% LP re-up. Targeting ~35 early-stage European tech startups, half focused on AI-native vertical applications.
AZ-VC II: Phoenix-based VC launches follow-up to $115M debut fund, focusing on Series A deals and leveraging connections of managing partner Jack Selby (Thiel Capital). Fund target undisclosed.
Frontier Tech Capital: Raising $150M debut fund for growth-stage Southeast Asia startups, aiming for 10–15 investments in companies with $50M+ revenue across agtech, manufacturing tech, gaming, and animation.
Overlay Capital – OC WAM Fund I: Atlanta-based alternative manager seeking $50M, focusing on sustainable innovation, supply chain resilience, and energy independence in built-environment investments; also offers tactical SPV opportunities.
People Moves
Octagon Credit Investors: Forms dedicated private credit team; Sean Sullivan named MD and head of private credit (from Morgan Stanley IM) and Michael Ahrens as principal (from Antares Capital). Focus on senior secured loans to upper middle-market borrowers.
Fortress Investment Group: Rob Brindley joins as MD to lead European client products, managing UK pension relationships; formerly investment director for private credit at USS (£76.8B AUM).
Hayfin Capital Management: Tim Atkinson (opportunistic credit product strategy) and Steven Carew (Australian client franchise) named MDs in partner solutions group; backed by Arctos Partners.
Crescent Capital Group expands bank capital solutions team with Juan Grana (head of team, from Chorus Capital) and Doran Chernichen (MD, from Standard Chartered/Credit Suisse) to grow risk-sharing and bank partnerships.
Other News
Apollo & Schroders Talks: Apollo Global Management is in discussions with Schroders to partner on alternative investment products, following a trend of collaborations between alternatives managers and retail investors (e.g., PGIM/Partners Group, Goldman/T. Rowe Price).
Hunter Point → Willow Tree Credit Partners: Hunter Point takes a stake in $5B private credit manager specializing in senior secured, floating-rate loans to middle-market businesses. Advisors: Berkshire Global (financial) and Kirkland & Ellis (legal) for Willow Tree; Latham & Watkins for Hunter Point.