Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
We were live from AGM’s RIA Field Trip at Franklin Templeton’s New York office in Madison Square Park with Franklin Templeton’s Head of Private Markets - Americas Wealth Management Dave Donahoo to discuss the nuances of serving the wealth channel.
Dave brings the perspective of someone who has seen the wealth channel handle multiple market cycles and an understanding of both traditional and alternative asset management, while always keeping the outcome for the end investor in mind.
Dave started his career in the depths of the 2008 financial crisis at T. Rowe Price, where he worked with individual investors. He rose up the ranks of T. Rowe Price and then joined Blackstone as a Principal in the firm’s Private Wealth Solutions business before moving to Franklin Templeton as Head of Private Markets - Americas Wealth Management.
Unpacking nuances in private markets, Dave discussed why he believes a “family of specialists” with a “narrow scope” is critical for a private markets investment platform and how a traditional asset manager can approach building brand in private markets. We had a fascinating discussion, covering:
How Dave’s background starting his career working with individual investors has informed how he approaches creating solutions for the wealth channel.
Why LPs want to do more with fewer partners and what this means for GPs.
Specialists vs. generalists.
Why RIAs have “cold call fatigue.”
What RIAs want from a product perspective and why differentiation, trust, and proactive client service are top of the list.
How asset managers can approach brand-building.
The product innovation roadmap and what the path to 401(k) and DC products might look like.
Thanks, Dave, for sharing a fascinating window into the wealth channel and for your passion, expertise, and dedication to providing private markets solutions to the wealth channel.
Show Notes
00:04 Live from Franklin Templeton RIA Field Trip
00:07 Meet Dave Donahoo
02:31 Lehman Day One Story
03:15 Thrown Into the Phone Queues
03:37 Teacher Call and Investor Fear
04:53 Start With the End Client
05:26 From T Rowe to Blackstone
05:53 Blackstone Wealth Playbook
07:18 Why Franklin Was the Fit
08:09 Traditional Manager Advantages
09:09 Platform Synergies in Wealth
10:16 Challenges of Going Private
10:36 Brand Transformation Story
11:44 Internal Alignment and Change
12:16 What the Brand Should Signal
12:50 Specialist Managers Philosophy
13:44 Building Perpetuals the Right Way
14:13 Defining the Right Structure
15:44 Evergreen Structure Depends
16:09 Secondaries Structure Choice
18:10 Infrastructure Partnership Model
20:02 Preserving Investment Cultures
21:50 Data and AI Cross Collaboration
24:17 Macro Insights Across Platforms
25:47 Product Innovation Roadmap
27:06 Private Markets in 401k Plans
27:53 What Model Portfolios Mean
29:06 What RIAs Want Most
30:21 Client Service and Honesty

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus
This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.
That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals.
Learn more at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email info@ultimusfundsolutions.com.
We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
Today’s podcast takes us to the heart of London, where we sat down with Maggie Fanari, the CEO of J Rothschild Capital Management Limited, manager of RIT Capital Partners plc. 
RIT blends a rich heritage with a modern approach to both asset allocation and private markets. 
Lord Jacob Rothschild founded Rothschild Investment Trust in 1971. RIT listed on the London Stock Exchange with total assets of £280M. Today, the firm stands tall as one of the UK’s largest investment trusts with over £4.7B of total assets.
The firm’s permanent capital and family office heritage have enabled the firm to think long-term, according to Maggie. “Permanent capital is a privilege,” she said.
Maggie has brought an institutional allocator’s background to RIT. She joined as CEO of RIT from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in 2024, where she was Senior Managing Director, Global Group Head of High Conviction Equities at OTPP, which has a global mandate to invest in public and private companies.
Maggie and I had a fascinating discussion about how the firm invests across public and private markets, balancing both top-down portfolio construction and bottom-up asset selection. We covered:
How RIT has aimed to compound wealth over time.
Why top-down portfolio construction and bottom-up asset allocation are equally important.
How can investors capture as much growth, limit market volatility, and compound growth over a long period of time?
How RIT finds unique and different managers in private markets, which includes some of the top investors in the world.
What market structure changes mean for investing across public and private markets?
How to invest when the world order has changed.
Taking a family office mindset and applying that investment mindset for investors in RIT.
Why permanent capital is a privilege.
How to be early to a theme rather than chase the trend.
Why RIT decided to invest in SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, Databricks, and Epic Systems.
Where do investors bucket RIT into their asset allocation?
What is a manager’s edge and how can they apply that edge with consistency?
Why depth of network matters for private markets managers.
Why RIT invested in firms like Thrive, Greenoaks, and Ribbit.
Bio
Maggie Fanari is the CEO of J. Rothschild Capital Management Limited (JRCM) , investment manager for RIT Capital Partners plc. She is Chair of JRCM’s Investment Committee.
Maggie was previously Senior Managing Director, Global Group Head of High Conviction Equities at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, which has a global mandate to invest in public and private companies.
At Ontario Teachers’, she served as a member of many of the pension plan’s investment committees. She was involved in the execution of investments across a variety of asset classes (private and public), including supporting the development and execution of the venture and growth business.
Before joining Ontario Teachers’, Maggie worked at KPMG and Scotia Capital. Maggie is a chartered accountant and a CFA charter holder. She also holds a BBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University and ICD.D certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Maggie served as a non-executive director on the Board of RIT Capital Partners plc from April 2019 to February 2024.
Thanks, Maggie, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion across public and private markets and your thoughtful perspectives from your experiences as an institutional investor.
This podcast was recorded on 15 June 2026, and therefore all RIT data is provided as at 31/05/2026.
Show Notes
00:42 Meet Maggie Fanari
03:44 Teachers’ Pension Roots
04:51 Top Down Meets Bottom Up
05:50 Allocating In New Paradigm
06:15 Diversification Returns
07:02 Volatility Creates Opportunity
07:22 What Makes RIT Unique
08:08 Compounding With Downside
09:41 Brand Opens Doors
10:05 Backing Emerging Managers
11:57 Co-Invest Importance
12:36 Returns And Realizations
13:22 Great Co-Investor Playbook
15:02 Building AI Theme Exposure
16:06 Sourcing Deals Like SpaceX
16:37 Public Private Value Split
20:09 Public Themes And Sovereignty
20:58 Moats And Terminal Value
24:06 Permanent Capital Edge
25:07 Oversubscribed Fund Access
26:46 Underwriting And Discipline
27:17 Why AI Needs Capital
27:49 Anthropic Growth Math
28:15 Databricks Scale Comparison
28:41 Can Funds Get Bigger
30:22 FOMO And Chasing
30:47 Portfolio Allocation Guardrails
31:47 Permanent Capital Advantage
32:13 Right Sized Private Exposure
32:51 Liquidity And Realizations
33:28 Owning Winners At Scale
34:11 Private To Public Hold
34:41 Re Underwriting Post IPO
35:38 Retail Investor Impact
36:20 Public Market Liquidity Needs
37:57 Why Investment Trusts Work
38:56 Discounts As Margin Safety
40:08 How Shareholders Allocate
41:03 Sentiment Shifts In Cycles
42:02 What Makes Great Managers
43:14 Manager Edge Examples
45:02 AI And Finding Leaders
46:56 Consolidation And Differentiation
47:51 Being A Great LP Partner
48:50 Macro Lens As Edge
49:42 Private Signals Inform Public
50:48 Culture One Team One NAV
51:28 Risk And Scenario Analysis
52:59 Multipolar World Investing
54:14 Geopolitics In Diligence
55:10 Permanent Capital Best Of Both

A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus
This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus, the full-service fund administrator and transfer agent powering asset managers in private and public markets. As alts go mainstream, you need real expertise to handle complex fund structures, connect with key distribution partners, and handle sophisticated compliance, reporting, and transparency demands.
That’s Ultimus: high-tech, high-touch solutions for over 450 clients and 2,500 funds with $775B in assets under administration. Backed by an expert team of over 1,200 employees, they place client service at the core of their business, helping you navigate complexity during your fund structuring or launch and then supporting you through every stage of growth. Whether you’re already in the market or thinking about entering private wealth, you can trust their team’s deep expertise in retail alternatives to help you reach your goals.
Learn more at ultimusfundsolutions.com or email info@ultimusfundsolutions.com.
We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
We sat down with Mike Trihy, Head of Portfolio Management for the Venture Growth Evergreen strategy at Wellington Management.
We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as private equity industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.
With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry’s leading alternative asset managers.
Wellington Management has a rich heritage as an independently owned asset manager. The firm, which has taken a research-driven approach and long-term thinking to active management in public markets and, increasingly, in private markets, is nearing its 100-year anniversary. Wellington has grown to over $1.3T in AUM and is the largest sub-advisor in the world.
Mike joined from Bow River Capital to run Wellington’s Venture Growth Evergreen strategy, which will focus on direct growth and venture investments, secondaries, and select fund investments. Mike brings deep expertise in the evergreen fund management space, co-founding and scaling Bow River’s evergreen private markets platform and working as a portfolio manager at evergreen pioneer Partners Group.
Mike and I had a fascinating discussion about the current state of evergreen funds and the venture and growth investing market. We covered:
The evolution of evergreen private markets funds.
The convergence of public and private investing.
Lessons learned from building and managing evergreen funds at Partners Group and Bow River.
The importance of portfolio construction, liquidity planning, and evergreen fund operations.
Which firms are well-positioned to run and manage evergreen funds?
Partnerships in asset management.
How the market may shake out and why structure must match the asset, the client, and the liquidity terms. 
LP composition, evergreens vs. drawdowns across wealth and institutions, and the role of partnerships. 
What the potential wave of mega IPOs could mean for DPI, exits, and private market fundraising.
Bio
As lead portfolio manager for the Venture Growth Evergreen (“VGE”) strategy, Mike is responsible for overall portfolio construction and allocation of capital across direct growth and venture investments, secondaries, and select fund investments. He also oversees risk management, liquidity management, and cash flow forecasting for the evergreen fund.
Prior to joining Wellington Management in 2025 Mike was a portfolio manager at Bow River Capital, where he co-founded and scaled their evergreen private markets platform while overseeing the fund’s investment activity across multiple private markets asset classes. Prior to Bow River, he was a portfolio manager at Partners Group where he was responsible for portfolio construction and asset allocation for evergreen products and custom separate account mandates. He started his investment career at wealth-focused listed private equity firm Red Rocks Capital.
Mike graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in finance, and he is a CFA and CAIA charterholder.
Thanks, Mike, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and perspectives on private markets and evergreen funds.
Show Notes
00:00 Live from SuperReturn Berlin
00:12 Meet Mike Trihy
02:06 Defining the Perfect Evergreen
02:27 Evergreen vs Drawdown DNA
02:42 Deal Flow Isn’t Everything
03:01 Portfolio Construction Focus
03:20 Cashflow Planning Mindset
03:33 Operations and Valuations
03:47 Sales and Flow Forecasting
04:03 Regulation and Complexity
04:11 Fiduciary Growth Discipline
04:46 Do Firms Have the Toolkit
05:20 Scale vs Boutique Nuances
05:42 When Bottom Up Fails
06:18 The Deal Flow Constraint
06:44 Should There Be More
07:00 Shakeout and Quality Wins
08:07 No One Best Wrapper
08:28 Matching Assets and Clients
09:43 LP Mix and Herding Risk
11:34 Evergreens Future in Wealth
13:21 Public Markets DNA Advantage
14:56 Partnerships and Mega IPOs
17:07 Private Markets Stay Private
18:52 DPI and Exit Wave Impact
20:17 Public vs Private Valuations
22:21 What Happens Faster Slower
24:08 Closing

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
We sat down with Anthony Maniscalco, the Managing Partner and Business Head of Investcorp Strategic Capital Group (ISCG).
We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as private equity industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.
With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry’s leading alternative asset managers.
Investcorp has been a pioneer in private equity. Since its founding in 1982, the firm has grown from a “boutique Gulf firm” into a global and diversified alternative asset manager. 
Investcorp launched its Strategic Capital Group (SCG) (GP stakes) business long after its founding in 1982. But the firm brought in a pioneer to launch and build SCG into a leading GP stakes firm, which now has over $2.2B of AUM. 
Anthony has been involved in GP stakes from the industry’s early days. He was a founding member of Blackstone Strategic Capital Holdings, a $3.3B private, permanent capital vehicle focused on acquiring minority interests in alternative asset manager GPs. He was also a Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions business at The Blackstone Group. Prior to joining Investcorp, Anthony was a Managing Director and Co-Head of Credit Suisse Anteil Capital Partners. 
Launched in 2019, Investcorp’s SCG acquires minority interests in alternative asset managers, particularly GPs that manage longer-duration private capital strategies. SCG has completed 12 investments since inception.
Anthony and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of GP stakes and the benefits of GP stakes for investors. We covered:
Why have stakes shifted from hedge funds to alternative asset managers?
Why the features of the alternative asset management business model (contracted management fees, locked-up capital, less key-person risk) can make for a good GP stake investment.
Why a GP would sell an equity stake in its firm to finance its growth.
Unpacking the middle-market GP landscape and where middle-market GPs need help growing their firm.
The evolution from fund to firm and what’s next for GP stakes.
Bio
Anthony Maniscalco is the Managing Partner and Business Head of Investcorp Strategic Capital Group (ISCG), based in New York. ISCG is focused on providing capital solutions to the GPs of mid-sized private market alternative asset managers. ISCG closed its inaugural fund in the Spring of 2022 and currently manages over $2.2 billion of AUM. In his current role, Mr. Maniscalco is focused on managing the overall business, sourcing new investment opportunities, advising portfolio GPs and is the chairperson of the Investment Committee.
Prior to his current role, Mr. Maniscalco was a Managing Director and Co-Head of Credit Suisse Anteil Capital Partners. Prior to this, he was Managing Director of the Hedge Fund Solutions business at The Blackstone Group. At Blackstone, he was a founding member and on the investment committee of Blackstone Strategic Capital Holdings, a USD 3.3 billion private, permanent capital vehicle focused on acquiring minority interests in alternative asset manager GPs.
Prior to Blackstone, Mr. Maniscalco was Head of Alternative Asset Management Banking at Barclays (and its predecessor Lehman Brothers) within its Financial Institutions Group. Prior to this role, Mr. Maniscalco was head of the Media and Telecom vertical within Lehman Brothers’ Leveraged Finance Group.
Early in his career, he worked at Bank of America and its predecessor Continental Bank in Chicago, focused on high-yield, mezzanine, syndicated bank loans, and interim financing products.
Anthony holds a B.S. from Indiana University (2026 College Football National Champions!) and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Thanks, Anthony, for sharing your expertise, wisdom, and passion about GP stakes and the business of alternative asset management.
Show Notes
00:00 Live From Berlin
00:15 Meet Anthony Maniscalco
02:56 Early Staking Was Hedge Funds
03:05 Banks And Prime Brokerage
03:40 Private Equity Hits A Wall
03:53 Shift To Private Equity Stakes
04:30 Why Stakes Are Attractive
04:54 Locked In Fee Streams
05:31 Carry And Diversification
06:06 How LPs Classify Stakes
06:59 Three Allocation Buckets
07:55 Strategic Access Flywheel
09:05 Tougher Fundraising Today
09:19 Why Middle Market
09:05 Fundraising Help For GPs
10:55 Underwriting Growth Readiness
12:15 Primary Capital Use Of Proceeds
12:49 Why Equity Is Worth It
14:46 Talent Retention And Next Gen
15:46 Wealth Channel Fit
18:23 Portfolio Construction Framework
19:36 Why Venture Is Harder
23:23 From Fund To Firm
24:34 Liquidity And Exit Paths
27:35 Prefs, Debt, And New Solutions
38:41 Continuation Vehicles Flywheel
41:02 Closing Thoughts

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
We sat down with Jake Elmhirst, Partner, Head of Private Wealth Secondaries Solutions and Head of Capital Formation at Coller Capital.
We were live from Berlin, which becomes the “capital of private capital” in June as private equity industry leaders make the annual pilgrimage to the city for one of the marquee private equity conferences, SuperReturn Berlin.
With Prosek Partners and former Bloomberg TV journalist Deirdre Bolton as my producer, along with her team, we took over a Tiny Space cabin to hold big conversations with some of the industry’s leading alternative asset managers.
Coller Capital has been a pioneer in the rapidly growing secondaries market. Coller’s tagline? “First in secondaries.” 
Coller might be “first in secondaries.” The industry they focus on has moved to the forefront of private markets. Secondaries are coming in first for many LPs, in part because secondaries are now an active portfolio management solution for LPs (LP-led secondaries) and a way for LPs and GPs to continue to invest in the growth and value appreciation of some of their funds’ best assets (GP-led secondaries). 
The firm completed its first secondaries transaction in 1990 and its first GP-led investment in 1996. Today, Coller has $55B in AUM (as of 3/31/26). 
Jake joined Coller after a long career at UBS, where he partnered with Coller from a few different vantage points co-founding and co-leading the Private Funds Group within UBS Investment Bank and leading the Private Markets effort within UBS Global Wealth Management. His perspective on Coller was very much a reason why he decided to leave his farm in Yorkshire (as a 23rd generation farmer!) to join Coller as they build out their wealth efforts.
Jake and I had a fascinating conversation about the evolution of secondaries and how they are increasingly “solutions” for LPs and GPs. We covered:
Jake’s experience witnessing the rise of the early days of private markets and how that’s shaped how he thinks about secondaries today.
Why secondaries are becoming “solutions” for LPs and GPs.
Why secondaries can be a core portfolio holding.
The features of secondaries. 
The drivers of the increase in LP-led sales.
Why have GP-led continuation vehicles become a popular solution?
Why secondaries make sense for private wealth investors.
Bio
Jake is a Partner and Head of Private Wealth Secondaries Solutions and Head of Capital Formation. He is based in the firm’s London office.
Prior to joining Coller Capital in April 2022, Jake spent 25 years at UBS where he led the Private Markets effort within UBS Global Wealth Management, based in London. Prior to that, Jake co-founded and co-led the Private Funds Group within UBS Investment Bank, based in New York.
He previously worked at Freshfields in London, where he qualified as a solicitor working in the Tax Team with a focus on collective investment schemes.
Jake has a degree in Law (LLB) from the University of Bristol.
Jake Elmhirst is a registered representative of Parallel Distributors LLC.
Thanks, Jake, for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion in private markets, private wealth, and secondaries.
Show Notes
 
00:00 Live in Berlin Intro
00:39 Jake Elmhirst’s Career Journey
02:08 Wealth Channel Lessons
05:06 Farming Roots Detour
07:34 Secondaries Liquidity Fix
09:26 Continuation Vehicles Impact
11:21 Wealth Channel and Scale
13:21 Why Secondaries Work
15:15 Core Holding for Wealth
16:31 Discount Versus Quality
18:43 Underwriting in CV Era
20:56 Evergreen Portfolio Mix
21:56 Future of Solutions
23:02 Toolbox Expansion Ideas
24:55 Why Scale Matters
25:53 Discount Nuance Explained
27:30 Active Portfolio Management
28:45 Closing Thoughts