Alternative Investing Report - November 13, 2024

In partnership with

*as of 11/12; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

Retail investors are on track to account for 61% of assets under management (AUM) globally by 2030, and the proportion of those assets allocated to alternatives is expected to triple. Major firms in the private equity space, like Blackstone, EQT, and Apollo, are starting to take notice and are increasingly targeting retail investors. New products with better liquidity options have been designed to alleviate the common liquidity concerns investors face in private markets.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Private equity fundraising has fallen, with 2024 on track to post the lowest total since 2020. It makes sense that as institutional investors have scaled back their PE portfolios that firms would start to eye retail investors. There should continue to be more opportunities for individuals to access private equity opportunities, which can be attractive, particularly if liquidity is not an issue, along with other alternative asset classes.

Learn how to unlock the potential of your retirement account by investing in alternative assets like startups, real estate, and crypto. In this workshop, Carry CEO Ankur Nagpal will cover the strategies and steps to diversify your portfolio and boost your tax-advantaged growth. Followed by a live Q&A.

​Sign up to attend live or get the replay sent directly to your inbox.

The Destiny Tech 100 (DXYZ), a publicly-traded closed-end Pre-IPO fund, saw its value skyrocket in the past week, with its price going from $10.90 the day before the election to a high of $47.48 on Monday before falling back down to $30.40 yesterday. The public stock is positioned as a way for everyday investors - including those who are not accredited - to own private companies. Names like SpaceX - which makes up more than a third of its portfolio, Stripe, and OpenAI are held within the structure.

➨ TAKEAWAY: The catalyst for the recent rise of DXYZ was Trump’s election, putting vocal backer and SpaceX founder Elon Musk in a position of greater power. Investors who can’t directly buy SpaceX stock poured into DXYZ, boosting its value. This isn’t the first meteoric rise it has seen, as it zoomed up past $100 per share in the weeks after its launch in March before losing 90% of its value in the following months. Investors should keep in mind the the latest Net Asset Value (NAV) of the fund from June 30 was just $5.15 per share, meaning it is very likely the current price still represents a significant premium to its true value.

🤖 Another AI unicorn: Writer, a full-stack generative AI platform building autonomous agents, raised $200 million at a $1.9 billion valuation after last being valued at $500 million in September 2023.

🪙 FTX sues Binance: The defunct crypto exchange is asking for $1.76 billion in damages in its lawsuit against its fellow crypto exchange and former CEO, CZ Zhao. The accusations of fraud surround a 2021 transaction where the defendants exited their investment in FTX by selling shares back to the company.

🎨 $32 million Rothko: Sotheby’s Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Evening sale saw Mark Rothko’s “Untitled (Yellow and Blue)” sell for $32.4 million, right in the midpoint of its pre-sale estimate. However, of the 26 lots, 4 didn’t sell, and only 1 exceeded its high estimate.

🏡 Affordable Midwest cities: Rockford, IL, Akron, OH, and Canton, OH, all made the top 20 in Realtor.com’s list of the hottest housing markets where median mortgage payments are under $1,500.

🚀 Trump Jr. joins VC firm: Rather than join his father in the White House, Donald Trump Jr. is joining the conservative VC firm 1789 Capital, another strong indication that the incoming administration is likely to be VC-friendly.

💵 Stonepeak acquires Boundary Street: Stonepeak, a private equity firm specialized in infrastructure assets, bought Boundary Street Capital, a private credit lender that primarily lends to digital infrastructure developers.

In a banner week for crypto that saw huge gains for many tokens, Cronos, the utility token for Crypto.com, had the biggest rise of any coin in the top-100 in market cap. With the greater crypto market pumping, it is no surprise that an exchange-affiliated token would see high demand, but Crypto.com also released an ambitious 2025 roadmap that sparked interest. The company also announced a partnership with Google that will see Google Cloud become the main validator of the Cronos blockchain.