Michelle Celarier

1 week ago | institutionalinvestor.com | Michelle Celarier

Private equity is facing lackluster fundraising and few options to sell portfolio companies — but that has been a tailwind for the secondary market, which investors use to sell their stakes in PE funds. In 2024, secondaries had a record year by raising what PitchBook estimates was $101.6 billion, a 29 percent increase over 2023. That burst of activity in secondaries came as overall fundraising in privates fell about 45 percent, according to the research firm’s annual review of the market.

1 week ago | institutionalinvestor.com | Stephen Taub |John Crabb |Michelle Celarier

It is another nightmare year for Casdin Capital. The life sciences hedge fund was down 32 percent in the first quarter alone in a generally rough period for much of the sector. As a result, 2025 could be Casdin’s third disastrous year in the past five, making it nearly impossible to predict when or if the firm will ever hit its high-water mark.

1 week ago | institutionalinvestor.com | Jonathan Kandell |John Crabb |Michelle Celarier

In their more than six decades, real estate investment trusts have reached far beyond traditional deals and come up with innovative angles on such unlikely businesses as roulette tables and marijuana. In the mid-2010s, Las Vegas casinos like MGM Resorts International sold their real estate to REITs while retaining operation of the casinos themselves. That allowed them to focus on gambling as the REITs enjoyed stable rental income.

2 weeks ago | institutionalinvestor.com | Michelle Celarier |Alicia McElhaney

Aristides Capital may be the first hedge fund to open an office in Canada under the new administration — and not because of Trump’s tariff policy, even though CEO Claire Brown, previously known as Chris, thinks those don’t make any sense at all. “Sometimes, the decisions we make to reduce tail risk are not purely financial,” Brown wrote in her April letter to investors.

2 weeks ago | institutionalinvestor.com | Michelle Celarier

The tariff-induced stock market rout is confirming what hedge fund Stanphyl Capital’s Mark Spiegel has been saying for some time: the market is way overvalued, and Trump’s tariffs are only going to make it worse. Spiegel’s pessimism is finally paying off. While many hedge funds are awash in red ink, Stanphyl, which is famously short Tesla as well as the broader market, was up almost 30 percent during the first quarter, compared to a 4.3 percent loss for the S&P500.