2 Cautionary Tales From Private Equity and Private Credit Markets

Two high-profile cases in the public/private markets are testing boundaries and investors.

Why it matters: ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF’s XOVR stake in illiquid holdings, including SpaceX, has apparently run afoul of SEC rules. Meanwhile, a high-flying alternative-asset manager has changed the rules for returning investors’ cash from one of its funds. And Blue Owl Capital is now facing backlash.

But first, let’s start with ERShares’ saga. Morningstar’s Managing Director of Manager Research Jeff Ptak has been tracking the firm and its crossover fund. READ MORE

Report examines private equity’s impact on healthcare operations

A new report examining private equity activity in healthcare argues that heavy debt loads and aggressive financial strategies can undermine patient care across several sectors of the industry.

The analysis, entitled Private Equity and Healthcare: Balancing Profit and Wellness, reviews more than a decade of private equity-backed transactions and case studies involving hospitals, nursing homes, behavioral health providers, medical staffing firms and medical equipment manufacturers. READ MORE

Jared Kushner's new fund raises old questions

When Jared Kushner formed Affinity Partners in 2021, and then raised most of his first fund from Middle Eastern sovereigns, he took great pains to say that the endeavor was conceived after he left the White House.

  • He bristled at suggestions of quid pro quo, but also understood that the whiff was strong enough that it had to be addressed.

  • Kushner also insisted that his government days were in the past, even if his father-in-law regained power. Full-time private equity guy in Miami, not a D.C. denizen hoping to boomerang.

But it hasn't quite worked out that way, ressurecting old questions as Affinity begins premarketing its second fund. READ MORE

Wall St underestimates private capital problems, says top credit hedge fund

The private capital industry’s problems are far worse than Wall Street has acknowledged, as traditional metrics obscure weaknesses in the leveraged buyout market, according to a top credit hedge fund. A “substantial portion” of the private equity industry is already “stressed or distressed”, said Tony Yoseloff, managing partner and chief investment officer at credit hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management. READ MORE

If AI Makes Every Moat Temporary, What Will Happen To The Value Of Everything

Earlier today Chamath Palihapitiya, the founder of Social Capital and co-host of the All-In Podcast, published a lengthy thought experiment on X (formerly Twitter) that has since drawn nearly 800,000 views and more than 3,200 likes. The post, titled "The Collapse of Terminal Value," discusses how we might value markets in a post AI era. It poses a unsettling question: what if artificial intelligence erodes competitive advantages and moats so quickly that markets can no longer rationally assign value to what companies might earn in year ten or beyond?

The answer, Palihapitiya suggests, could require a fundamental re-pricing of equity markets at a scale that would make the 2008 financial crisis look modest. READ MORE

Goldman's Expansion in Private Credit: Next Growth Engine?

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. GS is making a more decisive strategic pivot, with private credit emerging as a key pillar of its long-term growth story. The company is aggressively expanding its private equity and alternatives platform through acquisitions, platform enhancements and the integration of new investment capabilities, all of which should strengthen its growth prospects over time.

Goldman aims to significantly scale its private credit business by increasing lending to private equity firms and asset managers, expanding across Europe, the U.K. and Asia, and growing its private credit portfolio to $300 billion by 2029. READ MORE

The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report

The Weekly Notable Startup Funding Report takes us on a trip across various ecosystems in the US, highlighting some of the notable funding activity in the various markets that we track. The notable startup funding rounds for the week ending 3/14/26 featuring funding details for Nectir, Digit, Stake, and twenty-three other deals representing $2.9B in new funding that you need to know about. READ MORE

Steve Young Says Bay Area Ties Helped Build Private Equity Empire

Legendary NFL quarterback Steve Young, whose investment firm recently closed a $3.2 billion fund, says there’s something to the idea that playing for the 49ers—near Silicon Valley—helps former football players break into private equity and venture capital.

“If I played for the Vikings, I don’t think this goes the same way,” Young tells Front Office Sports. READ MORE

Stablecoin issuer Tether has so much cash that it’s becoming a VC

Stablecoin issuer Tether, flush with cash, has a new pastime: investing in other companies, including in Eight Sleep, which makes a popular smart mattress.

Tether is going beyond the usual corporate VC playbook of investing in nascent upstarts using its technology or in direct business partners. Instead, it seems to be putting its piles of cash to work in creative ways amid the currently depressed cryptocurrency markets. READ MORE

California Diversity Reporting Sends Venture Capital Scrambling

Venture capital firms operating in California will have to register with the state this month and submit newly required diversity reports by April 1 despite pushback from the sector.

Entrepreneurs who backed the 2023 law (SB 54) argue the measure will better illuminate barriers women and people of color face in accessing funding from an industry that directs tens of billions of dollars of investment in the state each year. READ MORE

Breaking into venture capital when you don't fit the mold

Breaking into venture capital can feel intimidating, especially when you do not see many people who look like you or come from where you come from in decision-making roles. I have spent more than 25 years in finance and venture capital, first in India and then in the United States, and I can say this from experience: venture is hard, but it is also one of the most meaningful places to build a career if you care about shaping what gets built next. READ MORE

Massive AI Deals Drive $189B Startup Funding Record In February While Public Software Stocks Reel

Crunchbase data shows global venture investment totaled $189 billion in February — the largest startup funding month on record — although 83% of capital raised went to just three companies. They include OpenAI, which raised $110 billion, also in the largest round ever raised by a private, venture-backed company.

The record month for venture funding took place against the backdrop of a trillion-dollar stock market drop as AI compute and tooling unsettled leading public software companies. READ MORE

California’s Venture Capital Diversity Reporting Requirements Take Effect

The FIPVCC creates a new venture capital demographic survey and reporting regime administered by DFPI. Under the FIPVCC, certain entities which invest in startup, early-stage or emerging growth companies and have a California nexus (Covered Entities) are required to register with DFPI, circulate a prescribed demographic survey to collect demographic data from founders of portfolio companies in which they invested in the prior year, and submit an annual report of anonymized data collected. The demographic information collected under the FIPVCC includes gender identity, race, ethnicity, disability status, LGBTQ+ status, California residency, and veteran status. The demographic data will be reported to the California Civil Rights Department, and each report will also be made publicly available on the DFPI’s website. READ MORE