Alternative Investing Report - January 8, 2025

*as of 1/7; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

U.S. venture capital fundraising fell by 22% to $76.1 billion in 2024, while fund count fell by a staggering 46% to 508, the lowest level in a decade. Meanwhile, U.S. private equity fundraising fell by 27% to $287.3 billion, with its fund count also dropping by nearly half to just 316. The median time to close a PE fund is now nearly 17 months compared to 11 months at the end of 2022.

➨ TAKEAWAY: The slowdown in the IPO and M&A markets has led to a lack of liquidity in both VC and PE, which in turn has made raising funds difficult. With firms struggling to pay any distributions to its previous investors, it makes both existing and potentially new investors hesitant to commit capital. As fundraising becomes difficult, more VC and PE firms are turning to high net-worth investors and retail investors, so expect more opportunities for both groups in 2025 to access these asset classes.

In the newest episode of Smart Humans, Slava Rubin talks with Vincent’s Adam Katz about the year in alts, and what to expect in 2025 in real estate, pre-IPO venture, art, collectibles, and crypto.

Retail real estate had a strong 2024 overall, with vacancy rates hitting 20-year lows, but one specific type of retail has stood out - open-air shopping centers, also known as strip malls. The strongest of those shopping centers have grocery stores as their anchor tenants, with foot traffic to grocery stores up 12% in the past five years. Construction has slowed, with only about a 0.5% annual growth in existing shopping-center space for the past decade.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Even though online shopping accounts for more sales than ever, retail is adapting. Businesses with no online competitors, such as yoga studios, nail salons and medical centers, are all doing well, as are retailers with strong e-commerce footprints. Rents are expected to rise steadily - around 3-4% over the next few years - and with high construction costs limiting new supply, now seems to be a good time to invest into retail.

🪙 Crypto drops: A day after Bitcoin rallied past $100,000, it dropped nearly 5% to below $97,000, while Ethereum and Solana each saw 8% dips, highlighting once again how volatile the crypto markets can be.

🤖 Google’s new AI play: The tech giant’s AI research lab DeepMind is now focusing on AI models that can simulate the physical world and create 3D environments, in an effort to create interactive media like movies or video games, and get closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI).

🏡 Homeowners not selling: A Redfin survey found that 34% of U.S. homeowners never plan to sell their homes, with only 15% saying that they would consider selling their home in the next five years.

🚀 Biggest non-AI funding rounds: While AI dominated venture in 2024, there were some mega-rounds for non-AI U.S. companies, led by Epic Games’ $1.5 billion, Generate Capital’s $1.5 billion, and Tricentis’ $1.3 billion raises.

💵 Point72 expanding into private credit: Steve Cohen’s hedge fund is launching a new private credit strategy and hired a former Blackstone senior managing director to head it.

🎨 AI artist Botto: The German artist Mario Klingemann created Botto, a machine that produces images, and then uses the blockchain to auction off the works that receive the most votes, with proceeds split among members of its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

Originally created as a satire of the S&P 500, SPX6900 has seen the biggest gains of the week of any crypto token in the top 100 by market cap. With the mantra “stop trading and start believing in something,” the SPX community has turned into a “meme cult” and has recently captured the imagination of social media users. It was priced at under one cent as recently as 4 months ago, and is up over 200x since then, despite having, like all memecoins, no intrinsic value.

Advertiser’s Disclosures

This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile Reg A offering. Please read the offering statement at https://invest.modemobile.com

¹ Mode Mobile currently has no formal plans for an IPO. 

² A minimum investment of $1,950 is required to receive bonus shares. 100% bonus shares are offered on investments of $9,950+.

³ Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com. This is a paid advertisement for Mode Mobile’s Regulation A+ Offering.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Start-up investments are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investment tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns.

DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 105 Maxess Road, Suite 124, Melville, NY 11747, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.