July 2026

June suited equity managers more than macro and by close of the month, the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index was up 0.4%, taking the year-to-date figure to 7.6%.

Despite the headlines, private credit is not in meltdown. A true meltdown would be where everybody heads for the door in the space, regardless of liquidity structure.

For more than a decade, AIMA has tracked the evolution of the emerging manager landscape through industry research and surveys of next-generation hedge fund managers and the investors allocating to them.

Wimbledon is familiar ground for Novak Djokovic, arguably the best tennis player in the world with 24 Grand Slam single titles. What is less familiar ground to the 39-year-old champion is the world of private markets.

The Netflix adaptation of 3 Body Problem centers on a physics puzzle: two gravitational bodies produce stable orbits, but adding a third creates chaos. AI investing shares this dynamic.

At the highest end of global finance, law is no longer a back-office function. It is part of the infrastructure that allows capital to move across borders, deals to survive regulatory pressure and investors to operate in markets where politics, technology and litigation now sit much closer to the transaction.

As fiduciaries of our client's capital, clients who have typically not been exposed to private market investments to date, it is beholden on us to answer two key questions: Why should we begin investing in private markets today (if at all)?; and What strategies should we own for the best risk-adjusted returns?

The secondaries market has grown up around a simple problem: investors who want out, and capital that wants in. LP stake sales, GP-led restructurings, tender offers on private company shares: all well-established routes. But they share a common flaw.

The secondaries market has moved into a new phase of scale. Global volume hit USD 226bn in 2025, up more than 40% on the year. GP-leds made up roughly USD 106bn of that, and continuation funds the lion's share, close to USD 100bn.

Private markets have reached a turning point. Companies are staying private longer, using private capital to fund growth, acquisitions, and global expansion without the costs and obligations associated with public markets.

Abu Dhabi's MGX closed one of the largest AI funds yet, raising $49 billion for its first vehicle. The firm, backed by Mubadala and G42, is already an investor in OpenAI and Anthropic, but the fund's scale points to a broader shift in how AI is being financed.

Hayfin Capital Management's EUR 15 billion-plus direct lending raise is another reminder that private credit is not moving in lockstep.

Clearlake Capital Group closed Clearlake Capital Partners VIII with $14.8 billion in commitments, including co-investment capital and separately managed accounts.

Starwood Capital Group's $10.2 billion opportunistic real estate fund close is a useful marker for where allocator appetite still exists in property.

Ares Management raised $8.5 billion for Pathfinder III, closing the asset-based finance fund above its original $6.5 billion target and at an increased hard cap.

Hamilton Lane raised $3.8 billion for its latest direct equity fund, targeting private equity-backed middle-market companies across North America and Western Europe.

Future Standard raised approximately $3 billion for PA Secondary Fund V, its latest flagship secondaries vehicle and the firm's largest private fund to date.

Muzinich & Co raised more than EUR 1.3 billion for its third pan-European private debt fund, adding another sizeable close to Europe's direct lending market.

Align Capital Partners closed two lower mid-market funds with more than $1.1 billion in combined commitments, reaching the hard cap on both vehicles.

Conifer Infrastructure Partners closed its debut fund at $900 million, well above its original $500 million target and less than five months after launch.

Cheap Venezuelan debt was never the hard part. Distressed-debt funds bought sovereign and PDVSA bonds for as little as 8 to 15 cents on the dollar, betting that political change would eventually reopen the restructuring trade.

The FCA has decided to fine Carlos Fuenmayor, the Chief Executive of BancTrust, £99,600 for failing to disclose three separate matters to it.

The FCA has commenced civil proceedings against Mr Neil Woodford and W4.0, alleging that Mr Woodford and W4.0 are providing regulated investment advice and making financial promotions through a subscription-based platform, without authorisation.

In a unanimous June 4, 2026 decision, the US Supreme Court held in Sripetch v. SEC that the Securities and Exchange Commission may seek disgorgement of ill-gotten gains without proving that investors suffered a corresponding pecuniary loss.

The National Futures Association on 15 June, 2026 made targeted amendments to Compliance Rule 2-52 and Interpretive Notice 9082 that give member firms more flexibility in who may review, sign, and submit the NFA Member Questionnaire.