Thomas Wisniewski

Every operator thinks they’re “institutional.” But their balance sheet, GP commit, and fund structure say otherwise. Early-stage teams need guarantees. Mid-scale groups need GP co-invest relief. Mature platforms need repeatable LP capital. Until you know where you sit on that continuum, every co-GP conversation is just guessing a guess price, power & leverage. In my recent conversation with David Robertson, CEO of FrontRange Capital we unpack some of the mechanics of GP capital needs and the sources available to help.

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From the outside, venture looks like a game of picking “winners”. From the inside, it’s a game of returning the fund. I put together a short overview of the 3 numbers that actually matter for LPs: flop rate, DPI, and why one company must be able to pay back the whole fund.

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Most family office principals don’t set out to become the operators of a complex institutional structure. Yet that's often what the role demands. Staffing, governance, vendor oversight, cost management—it compounds quickly. Understanding how to balance what stays in-house with what gets outsourced is foundational work, not a detail to revisit later. This article offers a look at how experienced principals are approaching that question: https://lnkd.in/eXjqWrRe

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We sometimes assume AI will remain broadlimited to specific industries or narrow use cases. But when I see products like this being built, I can’t help but ask what actually makes a product resilient as giants like Anthropic keep pushing the frontier forward? I don’t have a perfect answer, but on our side we’re betting heavily on context specifically on connecting multiple systems and workflows that require more than a single prompt to function. Stitching together decisions, data, and actions across tools. AI systems will inevitably accumulate more context over time (like ChatGPT Company Knowledge), but I believe truly complex enterprise workflows will remain out of reach for generic models. That’s our bet! https://lnkd.in/gU6JYhqr

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What does the "new era" of private equity look like? This week at PEI NEXUS, Bain & Company's Chairman of Global Private Equity Practice Hugh MacArthur recapped the firm's latest Global Private Equity Report. Hugh noted that firms will need to focus on what they do well in a “new era” for private equity. These sentiments echoed much of what Private Wealth Forum speakers, including Arax Investment Partners Founder and CEO Haig Ariyan, Laird Norton Wetherby CIO Ron Albahary, CFA, Ardian Managing Director, US Private Wealth Solutions Ava Mallin, and Citi Wealth Head of Private Equity and Real Estate Jeffrey Locke, shared on stage at PEI. This week's AGM Alts Weekly dives into what a "new era" in private equity might look like, connecting dots and data points from Bain & Company and McKinsey & Company's 2026 reports on the state of the private equity industry. Some key themes defined the takeaways from both reports: ➡️ Returns will not be a dime a dozen: Bain's punchline? "12 is the new 5." ➡️ Megadeals, big questions: 2025 witnessed an increase in global buyout deal value. However, just 13 deals of $10B or more contributed 69% of the growth in 2025, accounting for $274B of the global gain. ➡️ A K-shaped industry: Private equity appears to turning into a K-shaped industry, with “a subset of elite funds [being] on the upswing while everyone else muddles through.” ➡️ No fun in fundraising: McKinsey noted that core, closed-end fundraising has “become more competitive, selective, and time consuming.” ➡️ Continuation nation: There’s been a marked rise in continuation vehicle activity, but only represents less than 10% of exit value. ➡️ Mid-sized deals not so mid: Megadeal activity grabbed the headlines. But deal sizes $1-5B deals grew 29%. Growth in the $1-5B deal size segment could be encouraging for specialist buyout funds. There are some key questions for allocators to grapple with as they think about what private equity might look like in the future. 1️⃣ Do allocators believe public markets will continue to outperform private markets? 2️⃣ Will fundraising bounce back? 3️⃣ Can firms kick value creation into motion? 4️⃣ Are both GPs and LPs ready to handle how investors might look to exit evergreen vehicles? 5️⃣ For LPs, are they finding managers that have an edge? Read on for more👇 This week's Alt Goes Mainstream's AGM Alts Weekly, brought to you by DealsPlus, covers: 🗂️ AGM Index, an index that tracks the leading publicly traded alternative asset managers. 💻 Who is hiring: Senior-level positions from companies Blackstone, KKR, Apollo Global Management, Inc., Ares Management, EQT Group, Blue Owl Capital, Franklin Templeton, Fortress Investment Group, iCapital, Goldman Sachs, Ultimus Fund Solutions, Krilogy, MSCI Inc. Subscribe👇 to see the latest trends & navigate this rapidly changing landscape as alts go mainstream. https://lnkd.in/eRKN25jy

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There are plenty of smart people in private equity. But how many are useful? My partner Ryan Milligan would rather be useful to founders than sound smart in front of them. If you know a founder who is selling (or planning to sell) to private equity please share this useful guide to negotiating working capital because many funds out there use it as a way to cut the price. And it’s a complex enough negotiation for first time sellers who are often unprepared.

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