Alternative Investing Report - August 6, 2025

*as of 8/5; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

Private credit funds are on pace for their worst fundraising year since at least 2018, and private equity fundraising has also fallen 35% so far in 2025. For PE firms, a lack of exit activity and distributions to existing investors has made it difficult to attract new investment from those investors, or significant capital from new investors. Private credit is getting overshadowed by flashier assets such as crypto, where funds have already attracted $60 billion in investments so far this year, on pace to break last year’s record.

➨ TAKEAWAY: With how well the public markets and crypto have been performing in 2025, it is no surprise that some private market asset classes are beginning to look less attractive. There is also some concern that rising default rates could cause issues in the private credit market, and managers and investors are thinking about the actual collateral underpinning their loans.

Secondaries have posted the best private fund performance over the past year, barely edging out private equity, with private credit coming next. Real estate funds are the only ones to post a negative return in that timeframe, and the asset class also brings up the rear in 5-year returns. For Q1 2025, the most recent quarter that data is available for, private credit led the way with a 2.4% return, while venture capital finished last with a 1.1% loss.

➨ TAKEAWAY: In addition to being the top performers in the past year, secondaries and private credit also have the lowest volatility numbers dating back to 2000, and secondaries tend to have the lowest correlation to other asset classes. This overall performance is part of what has led the secondaries market to grow to record volumes in 2025.

🪙 SEC okays liquid staking: In another regulatory win for the crypto industry, the SEC issued new guidelines allowing liquid staking, which allows investors to receive a return on their tokens while maintaining liquidity. This is a big step forward for decentralized finance (DeFi) products and provides more compelling features for crypto investors.

🏡 Hottest zip codes: A zip code in the Boston suburb of Beverly is the hottest in the city as measured by market demand and the number of days a listing stays on the market. The top ten zip codes are all in the Northeast and Midwest, and they tend to be more affordable suburban areas near desirable, more expensive urban areas.

🚀 Startups buying startups: The number of M&A transactions where one startup bought another rose by 18% in the first half of the year, as many early-stage startups are finding it difficult to raise additional funding rounds.

🏢 Vet clinics surge: As the pet care market continues to grow, demand for veterinary real estate grows along with it, with vacant retail and industrial spaces being converted into high-end clinics.

⚾ Collecting ticket stubs: The market for ticket stubs to memorable sporting events has grown in popularity in the past few years, and with digital tickets becoming the norm, the allure of physical stubs should only continue growing.

📺 Larry King auction: A collection of more than 400 items belonging to the legendary broadcaster are now up for sale at Julien’s, with the auction closing on August 12.

One of the newer additions to the top-100 tokens by market cap, MemeCore’s native token M debuted on major exchanges earlier this month and has risen nearly 750% in that time, peaking at $0.85 before quickly falling to $0.30 prior to its recovery in the last week. MemeCore claims to be the first Layer 1 blockchain built specifically for the “Meme 2.0” era, in which memecoins past pure hype into actual cultural institutions with more rational economic models. M’s price is likely to continue fluctuating wildly with the broader memecoin market, consistent with what it has shown thus far.