Goldman’s Nachmann warns of ‘deployment pressure’ from explosion of evergreen funds“’Some people will let the deployment push investing decisions,’ Nachmann said in an interview. ‘One of the concerns is, are you feeling too much pressure from the flow in the evergreen fund, and are you ending up doing deals that are not as good of a return – or not as good deals – because you have deployment pressure.’” (CNBC)

The Advisor’s 2026 Guide to OBBBA Planning “As trusted advisors, our role is to move beyond mere compliance and guide clients through the strategic implications of these changes, particularly focusing on the temporary provisions. We need to understand the new deduction caps and income phaseouts and maximize wealth transfer opportunities for our clients. Let’s take a look at these.” (Morningstar)

Bonus Boost Big for Traditional Managers, More Muted for Alts: Report “Asset managers across the board will likely receive bigger bonuses this year compared to 2024, although private equity and some other alternatives managers may see less generous increases, according to a new report from Johnson Associates.” (FundFire)

2026 investment management outlook “Many investors continue to migrate to low‑cost vehicles, alternatives (private markets specifically) are capturing the next leg of growth, and some leaders are scaling artificial intelligence from isolated experiments to enterprise platforms. At the same time, technology spend, compliance obligations, and distribution complexity are pushing some firms to rethink operating models, talent, and product architectures.” (Deloitte)

State Street plans to launch mutual fund share classes of ETFs to tap 401(k) market“State Street Investment Management is planning to take a different strategy than most firms that are looking to launch dual exchange-traded fund share classes of their existing mutual funds.” (Pensions & Investments)

Portfolio 60/40 Rethink: Liquid Alts as Diversifiers in Elevated-Volatility Markets” “As traditional ‘60/40’ portfolios (60 % equities / 40 % bonds) face headwinds in an era of elevated interest rates, inflation risks, and market volatility, many investors and advisors are looking at liquid alternatives as a way to diversify and reduce portfolio drawdown risk.” (HedgeCo.Net)

The Market’s Lone Loser: Why Consumer Staples Are Struggling “Traditionally considered a safe-haven sector, staples have fallen out of favor in a market obsessed with AI. From tech to communication services, industrials, and even utilities, anything benefiting from the data-center boom has soared. Everything else has been left behind, and staples have been hit especially hard.” (ETF.com)

How Family Offices Should Address Private Markets When Valuations Are “Stretched” “The spike in interest rates after the pandemic put a chill into sectors such as private equity buyouts and venture capital. Exits have taken longer to execute and with a backlog of investments to complete; the big shops such as KKR, Blackstone and Carlyle are now targeting the mass-affluent and HNW audience with entities such as open-ended, “evergreen” funds that are, so it is hoped, a less daunting entry point for rookie investors.” (WealthBriefing)

Blue Owl to Merge BDCs in $1.7 Billion Stock-for-Stock Deal“The deal, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both BDCs upon recommendation from their respective independent special committees, is structured as a stock-for-stock exchange and is intended to be treated as a tax-free reorganization under Section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.” (AltsWire)

Coinbase Launches Platform for Digital Token Offerings “Coinbase will host about one token sale a month on its new platform, which will use an algorithm to determine how tokens are allocated to investors. Investors will be able to submit purchase requests during a one-week window. Following this period, an algorithm will distribute the tokens, aiming for broad and equitable allocation, Coinbase said.” (WSJ)

Franklin Templeton Adds AI Agents Across Investment Teams “The asset manager announced on Thursday that it entered a strategic partnership with agentic AI operating system Wand AI. Franklin Templeton has worked with Wand AI over the past year on agentic AI product development and deployment for the investment teams, and now it aims to have these agents help with investment research and operational efficiency at scale by 2026, it said in the public statement.” (FundFire)

Blackstone’s BREIT Unveils DST Platform, Targets UHNW Investors with New Share Classes “BREIT’s new DST platform is designed to accommodate real estate investors seeking to execute tax-deferred 1031 exchanges. Investors in the DST platform will have an option to convert their interests into operating partnership units in the REIT via a fair market value purchase option – purportedly via a 721 UPREIT. Those OP units can eventually be redeemed for BREIT common stock, cash, or both – providing an optional liquidity path.” (AltsWire)