Paul Elias

2 days ago | themiddlemarket.com | Paul Elias

Deep-pocketed PE firms are driving up RIA valuations, increasing demand for high-quality assets and fueling a race to the top. Stone Point Capital is restocking its warchest, seeking to raise a $9 billion fund. The RIA industry is experiencing an unprecedented wave of PE investment and consolidation, with deal activity reaching historic highs in early 2025.

6 days ago | themiddlemarket.com | Paul Elias

Houston-based CAZ Investments is raising professional sports-focused vehicles, which high-net-worth individuals can now access through investment platform iCapital. The partnership comes amid a surge of investor interest in sports assets that Deloitte expects to exceed $700 billion by 2026, with private equity increasingly playing a major role. PE was non-existent in U.S. professional sports until MLB permitted minority ownership in 2019.

1 week ago | themiddlemarket.com | Paul Elias

CAZ Investments, a $9 billion asset manager and major allocator to private equity, has partnered with fintech platform iCapital Marketplace to make it easier for financial advisors to help clients invest in professional sports teams. The deal aims to streamline access to minority ownership stakes in major league franchises—an asset class that’s gained traction since North American sports leagues began allowing private equity investment in 2019.

1 week ago | themiddlemarket.com | Paul Elias

Introducing Secondaries Edge: I’m Paul Elias and this is your weekly insider’s guide to the secondary markets. Every Wednesday I’ll take you behind the scenes of this fast-growing asset class as it expands beyond private equity into credit, infrastructure and real estate. Once dismissed as a corner for distressed exits, secondaries are now central diversification tools, liquidity generators and an academic lesson on how and why strategies evolve. Here’s what’s on the cutting edge this week.

1 week ago | themiddlemarket.com | Paul Elias

As institutional fundraising slumps to its lowest level in a decade, private market giants are increasingly betting on a new engine of growth: private wealth. All the largest private market firms, including KKR (KKR: NYSE), Ares (NYSE: ARES) and Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL), are devoting significant resources to court high-net-worth individuals, financial advisors and family offices. Early results are showing traction.