Jessica Hamlin

Los Angeles, New York, United States

Senior Funds Columnist at PitchBook

senior funds columnist @pitchbook. writing Capital Pool newsletter. Tips? [email protected] or on Signal at jessicahamlin.08.

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Articles

ICE detains NYC comptroller Brad Lander

1 week ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin

New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents at an immigration courthouse on Tuesday. Lander, who oversees the city’s five public pension funds with a collective value of over $280 billion, was “escorting a defendant” out of the downtown Manhattan courthouse when ICE agents detained him, his wife shared in a post on X from his account. Lander’s wife, Meg Barnette, said he remains in ICE custody.
The WNBA shattered viewership records this season. PE was watching.

3 weeks ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin

Featured image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images On a Saturday in May, Women’s National Basketball Association superstars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese went head-to-head on the court. With a peak of 3.1 million viewers, Indiana Fever’s win over the Chicago Sky made for the WNBA’s most-viewed regular season game in 25 years.
Investors, don't leave America!

3 weeks ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin

Institutional investors vowed to protect American exceptionalism in the name of returns at an industry event on Thursday. Inside the ornate Cipriani ballroom in downtown Manhattan, a handful of the world’s largest investors doubled down on their bets on the US economy. In the limbo of tariff-induced market distress, Citadel‘s Ken Griffin, BlackRock‘s Larry Fink and SoftBank Investment Adviser‘s Alex Clavel said that the largest opportunities for investments and strong returns remain in the US.
PE realizations suffer under tariff uncertainty

3 weeks ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin

It’s no secret that President Donald Trump’s tariff policy saga clouded buyout managers’ ability to transact and get capital back to their limited partners. But the scale at which the trade war has impacted even the largest and most exclusive private market fund managers is just now coming to light.
Thoma Bravo closes $24.3B flagship buyout fund

3 weeks ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin

Featured image by Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for Thoma Bravo Thoma Bravo completed fundraising for its latest flagship buyout fund amid a challenging fundraising environment for private equity. The software buyout behemoth gathered $24.3 billion for Thoma Bravo Fund XVI to continue its software buyout strategy, the firm announced on Tuesday. The figure comes directly in line with its predecessor vehicle, Thoma Bravo Fund XV, which closed at $24.3 billion in December 2022.
Taylor Swift shakes off private equity

4 weeks ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin |Rosie Bradbury

Taylor Swift is private equity’s new antihero. The 14-Grammy-winning artist repurchased her catalog of music from Shamrock Capital, after the buyout firm bought the rights in 2020 from her then-manager Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, according to a statement on Swift’s official website. “All I’ve ever wanted was the opportunity to work hard enough to be able to one day purchase my music outright.” Swift wrote in the statement.
Mubadala Capital doesn't bark, it buys

1 month ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin

Mubadala was one of the world’s largest and most active sovereign investors last year. Its subsidiary, Mubadala Capital, was a big part of the story. Abu Dhabi’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund made $32.4 billion in commitments in 2024, up nearly a third from 2023, and its AUM grew 9% year-over-year, according to industry tracker Global SWF.
SQ Capital shoots for $1B first-time secondaries fund

1 month ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin

Mustafa Siddiqui’s secondaries firm, SQ Capital, is seeking roughly $1 billion for its first fund, capitalizing on an uptick in LP interest for exposure to the asset class, Buyouts reported. The former global head of Blackstone’s GP stakes strategy launched the firm in January to buy into both LP-led and GP-led transactions in the US and Europe, focusing on assets from middle-market funds between $350 million and $10 billion.
West Virginia University's new CIO is starting at a 'difficult time to allocate' endowment capital

1 month ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin

West Virginia University’s endowment has a new chief investor whose recent track record of beating Ivy League returns may help the portfolio navigate liquidity constraints. On Thursday, the WVU Foundation named Jim Bethea its VP of investment and chief investment officer. Bethea, who has overseen investment at the University of Iowa Center for Advancement since 2010, will succeed West Virginia’s long-time CIO, Rick Kraich.
Virginia retirement chief: PE is 'dead' through 2025

1 month ago | pitchbook.com | Jessica Hamlin

The chief investor at Virginia’s $113.9 billion public pension fund thinks tariff uncertainty, paired with overvalued assets, will keep PE dealmaking down through 2025. “My view is private-equity transactions are pretty much dead for the rest of the year,” Andrew Junkin, chief investment officer of the Virginia Retirement System, told attendees at the Milken Institute 2025 Global Conference on Tuesday.