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Sep 30

BlackRock's Wei Li: Private real estate must transcend traditional labels

In the second keynote interview from PERE's annual Europe Forum in London, BlackRock chief investment strategist Wei Li sat down with PERE editor-in-chief Jonathan Brasse to unpack where private real estate stands relative to other assets in institutional portfolios, and where it’s headed. Few voices command as wide a view of the private markets universe as Li’s. Her calls, often made on behalf of the world’s largest asset manager, help shape the guidance institutional investors rely on to build and manage portfolios across numerous asset classes. That made her the natural choice to weigh in on where real estate sits relative to everything else competing for institutional capital. This episode carries that conversation in full. Li discusses the strain that AI-driven spending is placing on other less-exposed areas of the market, a dynamic she describes as producing real “excruciation,” compounded by political friction and unfavorable press coverage of the burgeoning data center market. She also makes the case that traditional asset class labels matter less than they used to, arguing investors should look past broad categories like “real estate” and dig deeper into the specific themes underpinning a particular investment or exposure. As for where property fits into that framework, Li says the asset class earns its place when it intersects with major structural trends or delivers cashflow that diversifies investors away from the market’s dominant storylines. This is the second half of a two-part keynote series recorded at PERE Europe. Listen here for the first installment, featuring Norges Bank Investment Management’s Alex Knapp.
1d ago

The mid-market advantage: Higher returns, easier exits?

This episode is sponsored by Fengate Asset Management and Ridgewood Infrastructure Mid‑market infrastructure has quietly become one of the sector’s strongest performers, generating a 10‑year median net return of 12.3 percent and emerging as a melting pot for themes ranging from the energy transition to digital infrastructure. In this episode, Fengate Asset Management managing director Mac Bell and Ridgewood Infrastructure partner Sam Lissner unpack why the mid‑market continues to outperform, even as fundraising slows and macro uncertainty persists. They explain how founder‑owned businesses, operational intensity and disciplined leverage can create a competitive advantage; where value creation is strongest across data centres, US water utilities and transportation assets; and why build‑to‑core and optimise‑to‑core strategies remain central to generating predictable, core‑ready cashflows. With political winds shifting and demand for power, logistics and essential services rising, Bell and Lissner outline how mid‑market investors are navigating the cycle and why differentiated exposures can still attract LP capital.
Sep 29

The Exit Playbook: Right-timing the exit

This episode is sponsored by AlixPartners The Disruption Matters special podcast miniseries has returned for its fifth season, and this year, our focus is on providing an ‘Exit Playbook’, wherein leading industry experts share their advice on how to generate successful exits during a climate defined by their scarcity. In this fourth episode of the season, we look at timing. This is a six-part miniseries, and we’ll be releasing a new episode here on Private Equity Spotlight every week. But if you’d rather not wait, you can listen to the whole series right now. Just click this link – if you already have a Private Equity International account, simply sign in, or register for free to access all six episodes. In a perfect world, a portfolio company would perform so brilliantly that the buyers would show up unprompted. But managers live in the real world, so they need to consider several “trigger points” that would support launching an exit process. Naturally, performance is key, but it’s also performance that substantiates the sales story. The company may need time to develop that story so it can educate the market on what they’ve accomplished and why there’s even more value to unlock, because no one is looking to pay top dollar for an enterprise whose best days are in the rearview mirror. Guests include: Alex Greenbaum, partner and head of active core infrastructure at EQT; Chris Taber, partner and managing director at AlixPartners; Jerome Losson, partner and head of portfolio operations at Ambienta; Matteo Stefanel, managing partner and co-founder of Apis Partners; Lane McDonald, managing director for operations & strategy at OMERS Private Equity; Alexis Underwood, partner at Wynnchurch; Megha Kalsi, partner on the cyber team at AlixPartners; Maurizio Mussi, partner and head of portfolio group, Europe, at Bain Capital; Doron Grosman, former CEO and operating partner; Mike Hollander, managing director at GTCR; Helen Lee Bouygues, operating partner at Ardian; Riccardo Basile, operating partner and head of value creation at Permira; Neil Kalvelage, senior managing director and head of portfolio operations at Centerbridge; Brian Cassidy, president of Crestview; Adrian Letts, managing partner and head of business operations at Brookfield PE; Fahim Ahmed, COO of BC Partners; Jason McDannold, co-lead of the Americas private equity practice at AlixPartners; and Stuart Walker, partner at Cinven.
1d ago

The Exit Playbook: The human key to exits

This episode is sponsored by AlixPartners The Disruption Matters special podcast miniseries has returned for its fifth season, and this year, our focus is on providing an ‘Exit Playbook’, wherein leading industry experts share their advice on how to generate successful exits during a climate defined by their scarcity. This is a six-part miniseries, and we’ll be releasing a new episode here on Private Equity Spotlight every week. But if you’d rather not wait, you can listen to the whole series right now. Just click this link – if you already have a Private Equity International account, simply sign in, or register for free to access all six episodes. In this fifth episode of the season, we focus on the human capital issues that matter most in completing a successful exit. They include how to properly align interests for management, which needs to be reviewed on a regular basis, not just at the start of the investment. We discuss when to expand the “circle of trust” as the exit process moves forward, and how to address other key constituents, including customers. Guests include: Matteo Stefanel, managing partner and co-founder of Apis Partners; Saurabh Singh, partner at AlixPartners; Maurizio Mussi, partner and head of portfolio group, Europe, at Bain Capital; Mike Hollander, managing director at GTCR; Ellen Havdala, managing director at Equity Group Investments; Brian Cassidy, president of Crestview; Fahim Ahmed, COO of BC Partners; Jason McDannold, co-lead of the Americas private equity practice at AlixPartners; and Ted Bililies, global leader of transformative leadership at AlixPartners.
Sep 21

Differentiating ABF strategies in a rapidly growing asset class

This episode is sponsored by Castlelake Asset-based finance (ABF) is widely considered to be the next big investment opportunity in private credit. Though not a new concept, it has recently attracted growing attention from institutional investors looking to diversify their credit portfolios beyond traditional corporate direct lending. However, the breadth and complexity of the asset class require a closer look: understanding the nuances around origination, structuring, risk management and data feedback loops can help investors sift through the capital and new entrants moving into the space. In this episode, Isaiah Toback, deputy co-chief investment officer at Castlelake, explains what investors should look for beneath the ABF label.
Sep 17

How continuation vehicles are reshaping infra investing

In this episode, Bruno Alves, Infrastructure Investor’s editor-in-chief, sits down with Americas editor Zak Bentley. Together, they examine one of infrastructure’s fastest-growing areas: secondaries. The conversation focuses on the rise of continuation vehicles and GP-led transactions, which have evolved from a niche liquidity solution into an ever-more mainstream portfolio management tool. As infrastructure funds age and high-quality assets remain attractive for longer, managers and investors are increasingly turning to CVs to extend ownership and unlock additional growth opportunities. The discussion explores why investor perceptions of CVs have shifted significantly in recent years, with many LPs now viewing them as a way to retain exposure to top-performing assets rather than simply facilitate exits. The conversation also focuses on how surging demand for digital infrastructure, particularly data centres and AI-related assets, is helping drive activity in the secondaries market. From the growing sophistication of LPs to landmark transactions such as EQT's use of EdgeConneX as a platform for continued growth, this episode offers insights into how CVs are reshaping infrastructure investing.
Sep 23

NBIM’s Knapp: ‘You’ll see Norges do things it hasn’t historically done’

PERE’s annual Europe Forum in London brought together some of the region’s largest and most influential investors and managers to discuss where private real estate is headed – from capital flows and consolidation to how allocators are rethinking risk across sectors, geographies and investment structures. Among the standout sessions was a keynote interview with Alex Knapp, global head of real estate at Norges Bank Investment Management, manager of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. Speaking with PERE senior editor Evelyn Lee, Knapp laid out how NBIM, which holds roughly $60 billion in public and private real estate, is taking a more dynamic approach to the asset class after significantly widening its investment mandate. On this episode of The PERE Podcast, host McKenna Leavens brings listeners into that conversation, which also covers NBIM’s recent majority-stake purchase of eight shopping centers in Spain, a roughly €1.4 billion deal that he calls “the tip of the iceberg” for the fund's broader property ambitions. Knapp also breaks down the criteria NBIM is using to evaluate managers in pursuit of operational excellence, specialism and alignment as it seeks to scale its portfolio and revamp performance after multiple years of “mixed returns” from real estate. For more from Alex Knapp, read PERE’s September issue cover story here.
Sep 22

The Exit Playbook: Starting with the exit journey in mind

This episode is sponsored by AlixPartners The Disruption Matters special podcast miniseries has returned for its fifth season, and this year, our focus is on providing an ‘Exit Playbook’, wherein leading industry experts share their advice on how to generate successful exits during a climate defined by their scarcity. This is a six-part miniseries, and we’ll be releasing a new episode here on Private Equity Spotlight every week. But if you’d rather not wait, you can listen to the whole series right now. Just click this link – if you already have a Private Equity International account, simply sign in, or register for free to access all six episodes. In this third episode of the season, our guests make the case that any investment case needs to be tied to the likeliest exit scenarios. Not all value creation efforts are created equal in the eyes of the buyer, so the journey to exit needs to be supporting the story the seller hopes to pitch the market. This also means taking a hard look at the current management teams and the IT solutions to ensure the company is built to grow and sustain that performance. And that’s best done as early as possible. Guests include: Jerome Losson, partner and head of portfolio operations at Ambienta; Matteo Stefanel, managing partner and co-founder of Apis Partners; Saurabh Singh, partner at AlixPartners; Alexis Underwood, partner at Wynnchurch; Chris Satchell, head of portfolio tech at CD&R; Megha Kalsi, partner on the cyber team at AlixPartners; Maurizio Mussi, partner and head of portfolio group, Europe, at Bain Capital; Helen Lee Bouygues, operating partner at Ardian; Doron Grosman, former CEO and operating partner; Riccardo Basile, operating partner and head of value creation at Permira; Neil Kalvelage, senior managing director and head of portfolio operations at Centerbridge; Brian Cassidy, president of Crestview; Jason McDannold, co-lead of the Americas private equity practice at AlixPartners; and Adrian Letts, managing partner and head of business operations at Brookfield PE.
Jul 13

The boom in LP-led secondaries

This episode is sponsored by LGT Capital Partners, Dawson Partners and Pomona Capital Record volumes and growing liquidity pressures are pushing limited partners into the market as secondaries become a core portfolio management tool rather than a last resort. What was once viewed as a reactive measure has become a core tool for managing private equity exposure with repeat sellers now a defining feature of the landscape. Asset-class expansion is also encouraging more activity. In this episode, Secondaries Investor editor Madeleine Farman is joined by Dawson Partners’ Yann Robard, LGT Capital Partners’ Pauline Wetter and Pomona Capital’s Michael Granoff. They explore why LP sales have become an expected part of managing private equity exposure; how geographic dynamics shape seller motivations; and how asset-class expansion – from private credit to infrastructure – is changing underwriting and pricing across the market.
Sep 25

Does climate investment still make sense for pension funds?

Climate action is facing headwinds in North America but Canada’s big pension funds are staying the course. That’s the message from Bertrand Millot, head of sustainability at La Caisse. The $550 billion manager of Quebec’s public pension funds set its first climate strategy in 2017, and by the end of last year, it had $164 billion allocated to “climate action investments”. In this episode, he explains the evolution of La Caisse’s approach to climate investment over the past decade to RI editor-in-chief Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker. As well as setting out what La Caisse wants to see from corporates – board-level climate capabilities, credible transition plans and relevant disclosures – Millot makes the case for asset owner involvement in policy engagement, stresses the power of collective action, and looks at the opportunities for investment in climate adaptation.

PEI Group is a business intelligence company that informs and connects investment professionals across global, specialised markets. We identify specific high growth, high value investment sectors and themes where deep insight, strong market relationships and active capital flows are critical for success.