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| The Daily Pitch |
| VC, PE and M&A |
| Your edge on global private capital markets |
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| Welcome to the new week. Today's Daily Pitch features a bit of analyst myth-busting about the private market investments that would be used in 401(k)s, a look at Europe's record PE exits in financial services and a snapshot of Italy's early rebound in VC. |
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| In 401(k) move to alts, will investors get what they think they're buying? |
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By Alexander Davis, Head of Enterprise Reporting
If you're a US worker in a 401(k) retirement plan, you may soon gain the option to add private equity and other private market exposure to your savings.
Exactly how 401(k) plans might construct and manage private allocations remains to be seen. Small investors hoping to take part in high-powered strategies like funds with Blackstone and Apollo Global Management may want to temper expectations.
Hilary Wiek, a senior PitchBook strategist and former public-pension investor, says in a new analyst note that the upcoming products aimed at the retail channel may have a hard time living up to the industry's hoopla.
We sat down with her to discuss takeaways from the note. Check out the full Q&A here. Below is a condensed version. |
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How is the asset management industry touting the arrival of private market products?
Wiek: You're hearing a lot about how great this is from a diversification standpoint, that investors can get access to assets that could improve their risk-return profile over time. Most of the publicly facing information that's come out has been on the educational side.
In your note, you engaged in a bit of myth-busting about the investments that would be used in 401(k) plans. What are you seeing?
The term "private markets," which was used in President Donald Trump's executive order and in a lot of other announcements about this trend, can refer to a variety of assets.
For those imagining high-octane investments such as early-stage VC, they may be disappointed, as the private sleeves are more typically made up of some combination of private credit, real estate, infrastructure and possibly private equity.
If retail investors are looking at this change as an opportunity to play in bolder assets like PE or VC market for the first time, are they going to be let down?
The executive order does highlight things like crypto, VC and PE. But the vast majority of products available for retail are sitting in private credit, real estate and infrastructure.
A lot of the stories being told are, "Hey, you could have gotten into SpaceX years ago and ridden that right up." I just don't think that that's going to be the primary exposure to private markets that people assume. |
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| Share your perspective on private capital in 2026 |
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Affinity is gathering perspectives from leaders across the investment community to understand how teams are thinking about 2026.
Your input will become part of Affinity's 2026 Predictions Report, which provides data-driven insights into how firms are managing operations, relationships, and dealmaking strategies in the year ahead. Take five minutes to share your insights, and as a bonus, you’ll also be entered into a drawing to win a $500 Airbnb gift card!
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• Goldman Sachs is nearing a roughly $1 billion deal to acquire Excel Sports Management from Shamrock Capital, the Financial Times reported. This reflects rising appetite for athlete representation businesses and sports investments in general. Find out more
• Italy's private markets showed signs of a rebound in Q3, according to our latest country market snapshot. PE dealmaking reached a five-year high despite smaller transaction sizes. VC funding bounced back, but exits remained muted. See what else our analysts discovered
• Meet the unicorn class of 2025. The latest additions to our tracker of billion-dollar startups are packed with AI efforts—from coding agents to semiconductors—alongside designer sunglasses and a cancer care platform. Explore our unicorn tracker
• VC funding for the medtech industry is on the road to recovery, according to our recent Emerging Tech Research. But while growth-stage companies are seeing a surge toward 2020-2021 highs, early-stage specialists are feeling the squeeze. Access the expert analysis |
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| PE exits in Europe's financial services hit record $36B+ |
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By Andrea Gaini, Private Equity Reporter
PE exits in Europe's financial services sector have reached an all-time high in 2025, as firms can finally offload long-held assets amid improving market conditions.
According to PitchBook data, 77 exits have closed this year, worth €31.3 billion (about $36.3 billion). The sector is on track for its strongest year on record for value and pace.
Several factors are driving the uptick. After several years of extended holding periods amid market volatility, PE firms are moving to crystallize returns and return capital to LPs. Much of the exit activity surge is driven by liquidity needs rather than purely opportunistic sales, as LPs push GPs to free up capital before committing to new funds.
With stable earnings, regulatory tailwinds and consolidation opportunities, the financial services sector has become a prime hunting ground for strategic buyers and secondary PE funds. New EU rules under CRR3 (known as the Danish Compromise) mean banks no longer have to hold as much capital when acquiring insurers or asset managers, encouraging more deals.
In the UK, regulators are also easing rules to support growth, such as simplifying reporting requirements and updating the Solvency II regime—the regulation that sets capital and risk standards for insurers. |
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Renewed deal appetite among corporates and sponsors, especially in fintech, payments and insurance distribution, has opened new exit routes. As valuations normalize, sellers and buyers find more common ground after years of mismatched pricing expectations.
In July, CVC Capital Partners sold UK-based pension insurer Pension Insurance Corporation to Athora in a €6.7 billion deal—currently the largest of the year.
Cinven also exited German life-insurance consolidator Viridium Gruppe in a €3.5 billion sale to a consortium led by Allianz, BlackRock and Japan's T&D Holdings, while Bridgepoint sold French insurance distributor Kereis to Advent International for an undisclosed sum.
If the current pace continues, 2025 could close with around 92 exits and roughly €37 billion in total value, underscoring financial services as one of Europe's most active and lucrative verticals for PE exits. |
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Smart reads that caught our eye.
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