Think you know infrastructure? Think again. The transition to a more sustainable, connected economy is broadening the opportunity set across spectrum of private assets. New geopolitical dynamics, combined with investor demand for more defensive private market strategies, are only accelerating the trend. What are the underlying drivers? Is strategy expansion a sign of maturation or indiscipline? How should allocators think about a much more complex, nuanced infrastructure landscape?

As companies stay private for longer and liquidity solutions evolve, how do investment offices adopt the right approach to asset allocation? What role do private markets now play? Do ongoing rolling shocks demand a more agile approach?

CIOs are having to navigate investment strategy as the world economy is being rewired by disruption and rewritten by geopolitics. What do they see on the horizon? Strong returns in public markets are mirrored by spluttering private markets. What are the priorities in the year ahead within their own investment programmes? What role does private markets play five years from now?

Now that the secondary market is so large (and continuing to mature), we explore what tension it may create with making primary commitments. After all, the secondary market gives the optionality for vintage diversification, faster deployment and visible NAV. How do you balance both primary with secondary commitments within the same programme? Have secondaries have become so attractive on a risk-adjusted basis that they're cannibalising primary appetite?

On private debt, 29% of allocators have a somewhat worse view on opportunities in the asset class compared to last year - the lowest approval rating across all private asset classes. Performance disperson could be to blame, as managers are being tested by their ability to manage credit risk in the face of market uncertainty. Yet the addressable market continues to grow and premium to liquid credit remains a fundamental allocation driver. In this session, we challenge speakers to take a long-term view on where the market is headed and what will determine it’s future.

The last bastion of alpha in private equity?

The practice of diversification requires going wider or deeper into private markets. For LPs with established programmes, this can challenge long-held assumptions. Have years of low distributions helped or hindered the diversification discussion? How do allocators review diversification and where to go next? What influence do stakeholders have on what diversification means in practice, such as the debate about sovereignty of pension capital in UK, Nordics and Australia.

The case for being bolder and more creative with GP relationships. LPs trend towards fewer, deeper partnerships with their managers. What are they looking for? Why did they take the decision? How do you make it a success?

Blue-sky session examining how AI is transforming the job of being an allocator.

Wrap-up session concluding the key trends that have been observed across the day, taking the temperature of where private markets are at and informing LP-GP dialogue over the next two days of IPEM Global 2026.

Opening remarks providing context for today’s private infrastructure market.

Remember the good old days? The era of easy leverage, multiple expansion and benign macro feels like ancient history. Today, new risks and disruption obscure the path ahead. In this keynote session, we explore a view from the top of how it’s testing the foundations of private markets and what conviction investors have about the future.

Take a moment to reflect on where US private equity is today compared to the last IPEM Global, and where it may be by the next.

Take a moment to reflect on where the VC industry is today compared to the last IPEM Global, and where it may be by the next.

Take a moment to reflect on where the [private equity] industry is today compared to the last IPEM Global, and where it may be by the next.

Consistent with LP feedback over the past 12–18 months, Europe continues to attract non-European institutional capital to a greater extent than at any point in the last decade. US public pension funds are redirecting capital toward European infrastructure, and Gulf sovereign wealth funds are following — reflecting a strategic pivot to hard assets. But their building of infrastructure platforms now looks under question given turmoil in the region. Is this a structural reorientation of global capital, or a cyclical rotation that could reverse? What are US pension funds finding in Europe they cannot get at home?

The top 1% of companies drive the lion’s share of returns. Consistently accessing that top 1% is incredibly difficult and central to LPs decision-making. With companies staying private for longer, what does constructing this process look like - does it focus on founders or firms? Is geography or sector a consideration? Are longer investment horizons a help or hindrance?

Take stock of where private equity's value creation agenda has landed and whether the old playbook is still working. Which levers are delivering, which are oversold and what GPs are doing differently as they build to the next five years.

For years, an allocation to US private equity was all but automatic. However, North American entry multiples now trade at a 1.6x premium to European deals, close to the widest spread in the past 5 years. Meanwhile, US capital has been flowing to Europe - accounting for 38% of Europe's private equity deal value in the first three quarters of 2025, the highest proportion this decade. Does this show signs that even the most committed North America bulls are hedging?

If history tells us anything, it’s that private assets always perform well during periods of dislocation. Leaning in when public markets retrench is how the industry has outperformed. However, the conditions today feel like something of a perfect storm. What does the experience of past cycles teach us about where we are heading next?

The toolkit available to infrastructure investors has never been more varied. LPs can access the asset class through primary fund commitments, a growing secondary market, co-investment programmes, or direct ownership. Each route carries different trade-offs on fees, control, diversification and deployment pace. Which combination actually serves long-term institutional objectives, and which is simply the path of least resistance?

The prolonged slowdown in IPO and M&A activity is forcing a structural change in how VC investors generate returns. Secondary share sales are becoming increasingly common as GPs look to de-risk long hold periods by returning capital ahead of a traditional terminal exit. They are also a more regular component of funding rounds, particularly at later stages in Europe. How is it changing what LPs look for in VC firms, and how VCs plan their investment thesis?

The AI conversation has moved from experimentation to expectation but the gap between ambition and execution remains stubbornly wide. What does a credible AI value creation plan look like? How are the most advanced operating teams building internal AI capability rather than outsourcing it entirely?

Welcome to the platform era. Traditional asset managers continue to reshape the private assets landscape. The case for consolidation makes sense. Strategic M&A offers access to attractive margins and growing retail allocations. What does the dominance of these asset managers contribute to the next phase of private markets? What’s been the experience of integrating public with private, and institutional with retail capabilities? Ultimately, how does it benefit investors?

Accessing North America through a fund of funds or a broad multi-regional primary is one thing. Building direct manager relationships is something else entirely. What has been the experience of LPs participating in co-investments and earn a seat at the table? What does building direct manager relationships actually require? What are the lessons learned?

Opening remarks that set the scene on how to understand climate risk in the infrastructure market of the future.

One LP, one GP. Taking turns in the hotseat where no subject is off the table. What burning questions will they ask to each other?

What does a realistic data transformation roadmap look like? How do you fix data foundations under time and cost pressure, and when does digitalisation genuinely shift valuation multiples at exit? At what point does a weak data foundation become a genuine exit risk, and how are buyers pricing it?

Capital deployment into European energy transition remains structurally attractive, with falling construction costs, growing demand from AI and electrification, and binding EU 2030 targets requiring a step-change in build-out rates. 2025 was a breakout year for battery storage, with 23% more installed than the previous year. But the investment case at the project level is considerably more nuanced than the headline numbers suggest. How do investors get their heads around the specific risks of this fast-growing sector to find the most attractive returns?

Private equity has been dining out on software returns for decades. Scalable, high margin businesses, with recurring, sticky revenues kept sponsors coming back for more. Now, investors are asking probing questions about the viability of tech exposure against the rapid onslaught of AI. What do leading tech investors make of the outlook? What attributes do LPs need to look for in managers who will succeed in this era? Where does software investing go next?

At $1.7trn, private credit in the US is now larger than it’s leveraged loan equivalent (at $1.4trn) or high yield bond market (at $1.3trn). Institutional allocations to the asset class have steadily climbed, from nearly 3% in 2020 to around 4% by 2024, with some large plans signalling intentions to push exposure even higher. What’s the next chapter look like as this asset class continues to mature?

The trend of allocating more capital with fewer managers is part of a wider private capital trend. In VC, what an LP wants from this kind of partnership depends on their long-term goals. Corporates want strategic value, access to innovation and business relationships. Family offices want a seat at the table, proximity to innovation and visibility on deals. Sovereigns want to develop an ecosystem that creates jobs and economic impact. While pension funds use VC as a growth accelerator. How do VCs tailor solutions across a diverse LP base to suit each of these aspirations?

The energy transition investment case has never been better understood, or more contested. With political headwinds in some markets and questions over long-term policy support, how robust is the thesis really? And for investors already deployed, are the assets in their portfolios performing in line with what the thesis promised?

Private markets has its roots in supporting high growth mid-market companies. That’s why it remains a core source of alpha. Yet these businesses are also having to confront the pressures of AI disruption, energy price shocks and geopolitical volatility. How is the landscape in these businesses changing? What do they need from private capital today?

AI has scrambled job architectures across sectors, hybrid work has reshuffled where people will and won't agree to live, and the premium on leaders who can manage through technological disruption has never been higher. What does a high-performing human organisation look like when half its work is AI-assisted? When talent is the bottleneck to value creation, what can a GP realistically do about it, and how quickly?

One LP, one GP. Taking turns in the hotseat where no subject is off the table. What burning questions will they ask to each other?

Specialist emerging managers are consistently over-represented in the top quartile. If performance is not in question, what is holding LPs back? The concentration of investor capital within the top 20 VC megafunds suggests that bandwidth, data, risk-return profile and a preference of household names are all part of the equation. How should LPs think about building systematic exposure to this part of the market, what barriers are holding them back and what does a repeatable framework for identifying the top tier actually look like?

The capital requirements of energy transition and the digital economy are generating a new frontier for asset-backed lending — one where hard asset collateral intersects with some of the most structurally urgent investment themes of the decade. Renewables, data centres, and sustainable infrastructure share a common characteristic that makes them natural candidates for ABL structures: they generate predictable, contracted cash flows backed by tangible assets, offering institutional investors a path to uncorrelated returns without sacrificing downside protection. This panel examines how ABL is being deployed across these themes in practice: from the rapid emergence of data centre ABS as a financing tool for AI-driven infrastructure buildout, to the integration of sustainability-linked structures within ABL facilities and the credibility challenges that come with them. With its emphasis on asset quality and cash flow discipline, is ABL uniquely placed to become the default financing architecture for sustainable infrastructure? And if so, what do allocators need to get right to capture this frontier opportunity?

The music has changed. Private equity is having to learn how to move to a different beat. The flywheel of fundraising, investment, growth and exits has spluttered in recent years. How do we get it firing on all cylinders again?

What is the definition of sovereignty as a thematic investment? Take a moment to reflect on where it is today compared to the last IPEM Global, and where it may be by the next.

The operating environment for international growth has become dramatically more complex. Trade barriers are rising, currency volatility has returned, regulatory fragmentation is accelerating, and the playbook of simply following your existing customers abroad no longer guarantees success. How do you build the leadership and local talent infrastructure needed to make international growth stick?

JD Vance steps off the stage in Munich. He’s hearing applause but the room sits in stunned silence. The penny had dropped. America’s security umbrella, an essential pillar of European economic prosperity, was no longer guaranteed. Since then, defence has moved to one of the most actively sought investment themes in European private markets. What is the pace of change in LP mandates to invest, or will structural barriers exist? What are the exit dynamics, and how durable is the growth runway beyond the current rearmament cycle?

Is bigger always better? Judging by the growth of large multi-asset managers, some believe so. The past decade has seen a significant consolidation of AUM among large-scale alternative managers that provide a single entry point for private markets exposure. What are the drivers behind this trend? How do firms remain agile? What does it take to build a franchise for the future?

This session examines how leading PE operators are building procurement capability from scratch, deploying AI-powered spend analytics to find savings that management never knew existed, and embedding category management disciplines that persist beyond the hold period.

No market moves the needle on infrastructure quite like the United States. The grid needs rebuilding, the data centre boom shows no signs of slowing, and private capital has never been more needed to fill the gap left by retreating federal ambition. Yet policy volatility, permitting bottlenecks, and an energy transition agenda that shifts with the political weather have made the investment case harder to read than it has been in years.

The past decade of infrastructure investing has focused heavily on assets themselves, the towers, the cables, the turbines. But the businesses that service, maintain and supply those assets represent a quietly compelling opportunity for investors seeking higher yields and growth strategies. What does the opportunity set actually look like for investors willing to move up the supply chain? And as demand for infrastructure build-out accelerates, are the businesses enabling that build-out the smarter place to put capital?

In Europe, and shortly the Gulf, conflict has reshaped the investment case around energy security, turning it from a thesis into tangible opportunities. From critical minerals to grid modernisation and battery storage, private capital will be an essential part of the funding mix - in Europe, expectations are for it to provide the majority of the 660bn / yr that’s needed. What does energy security mean for portfolio construction? How are investors balancing fiduciary obligations with the long-term direction of energy transition?

With geopolitical shocks, climate events, logistics bottlenecks and the structural rewiring of global trade the supply chains that private equity underwrote in 2021 and 2022 have been stress-tested repeatedly. What does a genuinely fit for purpose supply chain strategy look like in 2026? Which AI and data tools are genuinely improving supply chain visibility and decision-making at the portfolio company level?

The traditional secondaries model was designed for a market that has shifted. Blind pool capital committed to a 10-year fund, with returns generated at terminal exit of the underlying portfolio. This worked when there were 5,000 portfolio companies and 1,000 exits a year. Today, there are 29,000 PE-backed companies with a similar number of exits. It suggests that secondaries are the future market infrastructure. Instead of being a reactive tool when LPs need to buy in to or cash out of mid-life funds, they are a more proactive layer that supports capital allocation, portfolio management and rebalancing during the fund’s lifecycle. In 5 years, do secondaries look more like a market infrastructure? And what does it mean for the illiquidity premium?

LP engagement with the mid-market is being driven by a desire to access where the majority of deal volume sits and replace exposure to managers that have scaled into the large-cap bracket. But does the mid-market live up to its billing? What diversification benefits do these managers genuinely offer, and as the market matures, is the opportunity set getting better or more crowded?

Data centres are no longer just a tech story. The influence from geopolitics and power markets make them increasingly a sovereignty story too. Regulatory changes in the region improve the value proposition of home-grown facilities. What is this demand driver doing to the investment case? If you’re an investor with conviction to invest in data centres, fibre, 5G, renewables or grid infrastructure, what do you need to consider?

The consolidation thesis has never been more popular, or more competitive. Has buy and build matured into a genuinely differentiated model or merely a way of dressing up a busy M&A function? How do you demonstrate genuine organic growth within a roll-up at exit, and why do so many fail to do this? Is AI about to accelerate the pace of due diligence and post-merger integration, or just make it more expensive?

Private credit continues to expand into new asset types that have traditionally been the foray of public markets or bank balance sheets. Commercial and corporate finance, infrastructure and project finance and commercial real estate are some areas where growth potential is high. What does the transfer of these assets into the private markets mean for investors? Private investment grade is the next act. $40 trillion market. Accelerating due to long duration financing needs of IG borrowers in energy transition and data centres. Bespoke financing solutions that at speed and with certainty.

Europe is having a moment. But with capital flooding in and valuations following, the more interesting question may be what is happening everywhere else. From Asia-Pacific's vast and underfunded grid, to the Gulf's transformation from capital exporter to infrastructure builder, the rest of the world is not standing still.

Things will be better next year. The recent software sell-off shelved exit pipeline of many tech and software portfolio companies, as PE sellers are unwilling to put strong, performing assets on the block when valuations were unclear. Undoubtedly, it’s getting harder to get the perfect timing for exits, especially whilst secondary buyout activity remains subdued. How are firms getting more creative with exit structures to get deals through? What does an exit planning process look like in the face of constant disruption?

How much liquidity is realistically trapped in a typical mid-market portco's real estate footprint, and how quickly can it be unlocked? When does a sale and leaseback genuinely create value versus simply bringing forward cash at the cost of future flexibility?

Private equity has been dining out on software returns for decades. Scalable, high margin businesses, with recurring, sticky revenues kept sponsors coming back for more. Now, investors are asking probing questions about the viability of tech exposure against the rapid onslaught of AI. What do leading tech investors make of the outlook? What attributes do LPs need to look for in managers who will succeed in this era? Where does software investing go next?

Take a moment to reflect on where private markets exposure in AI is today compared to the last IPEM Global, and where it may be by the next.

Family offices are no longer a niche. They are becoming one of the most significant and fastest-growing sources of private capital globally, with the scale, flexibility and appetite to move into spaces institutional LPs might avoid. They co-invest alongside sovereign funds, seed managers, and increasingly bypass intermediaries entirely. What does their rise mean for the GP-LP power structure?

Take a moment to reflect on where the private debt segment is today compared to the last IPEM Global, and where it may be by the next.

Take a moment to reflect on where the private equity industry is today compared to the last IPEM Global, and where it may be by the next.

Every investor is being asked the same question: how much of your portfolio should be in AI? Valuations are elevated, the hype is deafening, and FOMO is driving too many allocation decisions. How are investors sizing exposures across venture, buyout, and infrastructure? How do they evaluate whether a GP truly has AI credentials or has simply updated its pitch deck, and how do they stress-test return assumptions in a market moving faster than the models?

The sources of capital that seek private credit exposure continue to diversify, with significant inflows coming from retail and insurance capital pools. This is just as the market is evolving into an ecosystem. Banks are becoming asset-lite. Insurers are allocators, originators and syndicators of risk. Investors must make sense of this new landscape and ask themselves - what role do we need asset managers to play?

This session brings together a panel of leading PE firms to take the temperature of their investment and exit pipelines in the year ahead. Among the topics; where are fund DPIs running at across their vintages? Is the auction really dead (something this panel declared during last year’s IPEM in Paris)? What does geopolitics mean in practice for portfolio companies and how do LPs understand the risks? Has the reality check on valuations finally happened to bring buyers and sellers closer?

The traditional model, where a GP does a deal and offers a slice to LPs, is taking a smaller slice of the co-investment pie. Advanced co-investors are looking at equity infusions, minority stake purchases, call-on-rights or data-driven deal selection to drive outperformance. Continuation vehicles blur the lines even further. Meanwhile, co-investment fundraising has decoupled from primary fundraising trends, as GP capital constraints drive more co-investment supply. What new opportunities do co-investors see in the space? What advantages do LPs gain by building in-house capability? Where does the science of co-investing go next?

In the past few years, AI has attracted the lion’s share of VC funding. The median multiple for AI companies is 2.1x versus 1.4x of non-AI companies. What’s the early prognosis? How are AI-enabled tech companies of tomorrow taking shape? What kind of opportunities are VC and growth funds seeing in their pipeline?

Private credit's golden age is facing its most serious stress test. The aggressive lending vintages of 2021 and 2022 are now colliding with a higher-for-longer rate environment, with interest coverage ratios for many mid-market firms falling below 1.0x. Payment default rates have historically sat at 1–2%, but covenant defaults reached 3.2% last September and are expected to rise further. With software companies in particular facing AI threats to future sustained growth, how bad could things become in the coming years? Does the rise of ‘bad PIK’, which reached 6.4% of total private debt volume in Q1 2026, suggest a gathering storm? This panel will assess the real shape of portfolio risk: what early-warning signals are being acted on, and what tools — covenant enforcement, sponsor equity injections, sector rotation — are being deployed to protect capital?

One LP, one GP. Taking turns in the hotseat where no subject is off the table. What burning questions will they ask to each other?

The traditional model, where a GP does a deal and offers a slice to LPs, is taking a smaller slice of the co-investment pie. Advanced co-investors are looking at equity infusions, minority stake purchases, call-on-rights or data-driven deal selection to drive outperformance. Continuation vehicles blur the lines even further. Meanwhile, co-investment fundraising has decoupled from primary fundraising trends, as GP capital constraints drive more co-investment supply. What new opportunities do co-investors see in the space? What advantages do LPs gain by building in-house capability? Where does the science of co-investing go next?

Private equity has always bought into resilience. Identify businesses with structural protection against competition, grow then exit them. Now that every business faces a chance of complete model obsolescence from AI in 10 years, that logic is being turned on its head. As AI lowers the barriers to entry, what defensive characteristics should we now look for? What’s the right framework to assess what companies survive and thrive in the AI era?

As hyperscale requirements grow, they are placing extraordinary pressure on electricity grids and driving infrastructure buildout at a scale that was hard to imagine five years ago. This session examines how infrastructure GPs are underwriting data centre demand within their broader energy theses — what it means for asset selection, power procurement, and return profiles.

For LPs trying to navigate the region, the challenge is not a shortage of opportunity but an oversupply of competing narratives, each with its own set of risks and agendas. Building a credible APAC allocation in the current market means making deliberate choices: which markets, which managers, which structures. How should LPs be thinking about APAC as a strategic allocation rather than an opportunistic one? What does the right manager relationship look like, and how many is too many? And for those starting from scratch, where do you begin?

In an environment where LP scrutiny of manager selection has never been more rigorous, the ability to provide clear, consistent and timely data on portfolio performance, credit quality and risk exposure is increasingly a differentiator. The story of 2026 is that, when markets turn, transparency at company, manager, fund and portfolio level matters more than ever. How do allocators and managers connect the dots?

The OECD estimates that combatting climate change requires $5trn capital annually. The private sector will be a key source of capital, providing up to as much as 80% of the necessary funding (IMF). A new generation of institutional climate investor is ready to meet the challenge head on. What is the reality of deploying at pace without compromising on investment fundamentals - manager selection, sustainability and commercial returns?

Data centres are competing with consumers and stretching economies for electricity from a grid that is simultaneously low on supply. This session examines where private equity and infrastructure capital is flowing across power generation assets, how investors are underwriting today's builds against rapidly improving AI efficiency, and what stranded asset risk really looks like in a market moving this fast.

India has quietly become the most compelling private markets story in Asia-Pacific. Entry valuations are climbing, the near-term environment demands patience, and manager selection has never mattered more. Is buyout or growth equity the more natural entry point in the market? How do you assess a manager's edge in a market where everyone claims local knowledge? And at current valuations, is the return premium still there?

This panel examines the structural forces reshaping ABF at scale, including the rise of bank-manager partnerships and what they mean for deal flow and pricing power; the underwriting discipline required as eligible collateral stretches from digital infrastructure to royalties and aviation assets; how insurers are reshaping deal structure, and the opportunities emerging in Europe as securitisation gains momentum. With early warning signs appearing in some corners of the market, the session will also interrogate the central promise of the asset class: does collateral protection genuinely deliver when the cycle turns, and are institutional portfolios positioned to capture it?

We all know the problem. The backlog of companies held for more than four years stands at 16,000. That’s equivalent to 52% of total buyout-backed inventory, the highest on record. Holding periods have also hit new heights, averaging 6.6 years according to McKinsey. Something has changed about how private equity assets move through the system. So what does the industry do to clear the backlog? Has the way firms handle exit planning changed?

A supply chain reconfiguration driven by US-China tensions is reshaping manufacturing investment across Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand at a scale that will take a decade to play out. For European LPs, the challenge is not whether to be in Southeast Asia — it is how to construct an allocation. How should LPs be stress-testing liquidity assumptions before committing to the region? And which markets within Southeast Asia deserve the most attention right now?

Most institutional LP mandates were constructed during an era of globalisation, low inflation and political stability. Exclusion lists, net zero commitments and impact frameworks were all calibrated as such. In a fractured world, they look out of date. Deglobalisation, resource competition and conflict are all challenging these long-held assumptions. On the one hand, regulators are holding firm on ESG commitments; whilst the macro environment demands investment into areas like defence and critical minerals, exactly the areas that historically have been excluded on ESG grounds. How do LPs navigate this shift? Do they have the mandate flexibility, governance or analytical frameworks to reallocate towards these themes?

Japan offers something increasingly rare in Asia-Pacific: reliable deal flow, clearer exit pathways and valuations that still look attractive against Western comparables. What does genuine local partnership look like for LPs without an existing presence in the market? And as more global capital chases the same pipeline, is competition beginning to compress the returns that made Japan so attractive in the first place?

Take a moment to reflect on where direct lending is today compared to the last IPEM Global, and where it may be by the next.

Take a moment to reflect on where the secondaries industry is today compared to the last IPEM Global, and where it may be by the next.

The maturity of European direct lending is no longer in question. The question is no longer whether the market is crowded, but how the best managers are winning deals that others can't - especially when financial sponsor activity remains subdued. As sponsor-backed deals become more direct lenders adapting their origination approach to As deal quality becomes more variable, what does a genuine origination edge look like in practice? This panel examines how GPs are finding ways to further tune their origination engine and documentation process to compress timelines and reduce friction for borrowers and sponsors alike to gain a competitive edge. Where is execution speed being won without compromising credit discipline?

The rise of new players targeting underserved areas of the secondaries market is a sign of its growing maturity. This includes mid-market secondaries, a rich hunting ground considering the composition of the buyout sector. Sector specialist funds are also the new kids on the block, providing fresh investor capital into CVs, plugging the gap left by lukewarm LPs. What does their domain expertise mean for the future of the secondaries market?

Private credit CLO issuance hit new highs in 2025. Debut feeders were issued by more managers than ever before. They had demand from insurance companies to thank, as rated paper unlocks more favourable capital treatment than plain LP interests. But risks are emerging. Rising defaults and downgrades ask questions over credit quality. Whilst the presence of asset-based finance collateral, retail investors, new geographies raise new risk profiles all make some managers better positioned than others to navigate the path ahead.

The rapid growth of evergreen funds, reaching $350bn in AUM by 2024 and growing, introduces a huge new wave of capital into a market historically dominated by closed-end institutional capital. In secondaries, evergreen buyers have been winning processes at tighter discounts to NAV. Will this compress returns for the market as a whole? Institutions are asking for a piece of the action. Can retail and institutional investors really co-exist? Meanwhile the press, with fewer deals going around, finally has something to write about.

The industry has manufactured a range of liquidity solutions, which today are in sharper focus as traditional exits dry up. It begs the question which tools are most appropriate for which situation and who bears the cost of using them. In this session, the audience votes on which to dig into more detail. Then, we take the top three and explore the pros and cons it offers and why some are perceived as more controversial.

As private credit matures, the conversation is no longer just about whether opportunistic strategies can outperform, but about how much volatility institutional LPs are actually prepared to underwrite for that upside. This panel will bring together LPs and GPs to dissect differing expectations between opportunistic credit and more predictable direct-lending portfolios, exploring how investors define acceptable drawdown and mark-to-market volatility, especially amidst sticky inflation and anticipated shallow rate cuts. What are the critical levels of transparency, borrower-level reporting, and ongoing monitoring required to sustain confidence through a full cycle? Does the return premium in opportunistic credit truly compensate for its inherent complexity and dislocation, or are LPs now demanding direct-lending-style discipline from a strategy designed for higher risk?

How does an LP differentiate between a genuine opportunity that warrants a second hold period, versus a GP trying to avoid crystallising underperformance? In this session, we ask a panel of investors to evaluate hypothetical CV opportunities, revealing how investment committees from different groups review opportunities and take decisions to roll or cash out.

As modern private credit faces its first meaningful credit cycle test, the underlying tectonic plates are starting to shift, opening up a new landscape of stressed/distressed opportunities to explore. This cohort of managers have raised over $100 billion in the last two years to capitalise on late-cycle volatility, training their sights on non-cyclical, asset-heavy sectors like power/energy transition, music royalties, and specialty finance. In the current market environment, PE sponsors are seeking out flexible, bespoke capital solutions to support their portcos, rather than sell at a discount. What are the key features of opportunistic credit that investors should be aware of, when diligencing managers? And how are these managers triaging stressed situations, work-outs, and control-position strategies to take full advantage of the forces at play today? As more capital chases the same dislocations, the critical question for LPs is how to distinguish the true opportunistic credit manager from the distressed tourist.