Alternative Investing Report - August 26, 2025

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*as of 8/25; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

In the past year, private equity firms have raised $592 billion, the lowest amount in seven years, despite offering more incentives to investors than ever. Fee cuts and discounts are becoming more common, as are new tactics to return cash to existing investors so they can invest in new funds. More firms are moving old assets into continuation funds and using commitments to those continuation funds as collateral to borrow money and access more capital.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Fundraising is down by more than 30% from its peak in 2021, as a lack of liquidity due largely to higher interest rates has hampered the ecosystem. The lack of distributions to existing investors has dissuaded both those investors and new investors from committing capital. A sector-wide contraction looks imminent unless enough firms can find creative ways to access liquidity.

In this episode of Smart Humans, Slava Rubin talks with HEALEY PRE-IPO’s Christine Healey about investing in pre-IPO tech Unicorns in today’s market and the importance of understanding the landscape. Get access to the top names but avoid lots of common traps inherent in how the market works.

When the owner of the $12 million Jordan/Kobe card decided to sell it, timing the market probably wasn’t a huge consideration. However, for most people, knowing the best time to buy and sell sports cards is important, and cllct just compiled a helpful guide for investors and collectors to reference. For example, prices are generally highest during the season and lowest during the off-season, so NFL stars are reaching their peak prices, and now would be a good time to bargain hunt for NBA player cards. Notable athletes also often see a bump in their price immediately after they pass away, as Hulk Hogan’s market recently demonstrated.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Generally, when interest in a given active athlete is high, whether it is because they or their team are performing well, or they have changed teams, that is going to increase demand and cause prices to rise. This peak can be a good selling opportunity, as prices generally go down as interest fades. Waiting until hype fades to buy cards is also a good strategy, though like with all markets, it can be difficult to time everything exactly right.

🏀 $12 million card buyers: Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary revealed that he and two others are the buyers of the $12.9 million Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant card that set the all-time record for the most expensive sports card last week. O’Leary said that he does not expect the card to be sold again in his lifetime.

🏡 New home sales slump: July saw new home sales fall 0.6% monthly and 8.2% year-over-year, with the median sales price falling to the lowest level since last November.

🪙 Solana treasury company: Galaxy Digital and two other crypto companies are seeking to raise $1 billion to jointly create a treasury company to hold Solana, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Solana fell by more than 8% yesterday, despite this potentially bullish news.

🤖 Crusoe fundraise: The data center company providing service to OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise money at a $10 billion valuation, nearly four times its last valuation of $2.8 billion last December.

⌚ $20 million watch: One of just four Patek Philippe 1518s in a stainless steel case is being auctioned in November and carries a pre-sale estimate of between $10 million and $20 million.

🏡 Zombie foreclosures: When a property is abandoned after receiving a foreclosure notice, it is known as a “zombie foreclosure,” a phenomenon that occurs more often with investor-owned properties. The highest current vacancy rates for investor-owned properties are in Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Ohio, putting those states at the highest risk of being overrun by zombie properties.

Centre Square, the largest office complex in Philadelphia, is going to be put up for sale later this week, two years after it was foreclosed upon. The 2.2 million square foot property consists of two towers and is 36% occupied after being hit hard during the pandemic. Instead of being offered as an office building, CBRE is listing Centre Square as a possible residential conversion, continuing a trend for distressed office properties. It was last purchased for $328 million in 2017 and was appraised at $510 million in 2020, but is only expected to sell for around $100 million, more than an 80% reduction in value.