AGM Unscripted: Goldman Sachs' Jeff Fine - An Investor’s Guide to Private Markets

What It Covers

Jeff Fine, Goldman Sachs' global co-head of alternatives capital formation, explains how institutional and wealth investors should approach private markets allocation. He covers capital concentration trends, insurance company strategies, product construction principles, and why investment performance must drive business decisions rather than capital raising targets determining deployment strategies.

Key Questions Answered

• •Capital deployment philosophy: Investors should focus on medium to long-term horizons and avoid timing markets. Build exposure gradually to quality companies with managers who have weathered cycles, capitalize investments thoughtfully, and actively manage portfolios. The approach to private markets deployment should mirror public markets discipline despite different asset characteristics.
• •Market size expansion: Private credit currently represents approximately three trillion dollars but could expand to twenty to forty trillion when including asset-backed finance and various ecosystem segments. More assets and companies reside in private markets than ever before, with this concentration trend accelerating as companies remain private longer to capture growth.
• •Manager consolidation dynamics: Capital concentrates among the top five to ten managers who can support extensive research, market coverage, underwriting teams, compliance infrastructure, and technology platforms. Mid-tier non-specialist managers struggle to raise capital and operate on legacy fee income. This consolidation allows scaled managers to deliver services at relative discounts compared to clients building internal capabilities.
• •Insurance allocation strategy: Insurance companies increasingly allocate to private credit because it generates yield premiums while remaining capital efficient compared to equity strategies. Solutions must align with insurers' fundamental obligation to generate sufficient returns on managed capital. Credit serves dual purposes as both private markets allocation and fixed income portfolio diversification with enhanced returns.
• •Product construction discipline: Investment performance must rank above business model growth, stock price movement, or product proliferation. Asset selection drives vehicle creation, not reverse engineering where capital raising targets force manufactured deal flow. Transparency about risks and clear explanation of objectives prevents the opacity that historically produces poor outcomes when investors enter less than fully informed.