From use in deal sourcing, due diligence, and predictive modeling, AI tools have the potential to transform private markets and revolutionize investment strategies across the spectrum of alternative asset classes. But is this transformation happening? How are lps turning AI from a buzzword to a practical tool (or are they?)? Join this panel for a candid conversation and practical guidance about what’s working, what isn’t, and how AI is reshaping diligence, portfolio construction, and oversight.

 

MODERATOR

Qi Liu

Director and Head of AI, StepStone Group

 

SPEAKER

Sam Levens

CIO, Stone Garden Group

Griff Norville

Managing Director and Head of Technology Solutions, Hamilton Lane

Ben Song

Director, Quantitative Analyst, Fidelity Investments

Perpetual capital has become one of the cornerstone themes in private markets in the last year. These “evergreen funds” allow managers to reinvest fund proceeds and focus on sustainable value creation. However, they may also present liquidity and alignment issues. These structural differences between evergreens and traditional closed-end funds may affect manager decisions such as type, timing, and strategy for fund investments. This panel examines issues related to evergreen fund portfolio management that are important for both gps and lps to consider when making investment decisions.

 

MODERATOR

Chris Schelling

Managing Director, Pan-Alts, Aksia

 

SPEAKER

Bob Long

Partner, CEO, StepStone Private Wealth

Michael McGirr

Director of Private Equity, MassPRIM

Drew Snow

Managing Director, Evergreen Portfolio Manager, HarbourVest Partners

This roundtable will tackle the most pressing topics in private equity: from shifting valuations, and evolving exit pathways, to capital competition. Join this roundtable for a broad discussion of the industry from every angle: deal sourcing, value creation, fundraising, and portfolio management.

 

MODERATOR

Bob Erb

Managing Director, US Debt Capital Markets, EY

 

SPEAKER

John Bradley

Senior Investment Officer, Florida SBA

Elias Korosis

Partner, Federated Hermes; Chair, Invest Europe

Ye Liang

Vice President, Quantiative Investement Science, HarbourVest Partners

Elizabeth Weindruch

Managing Director, Barings

Scott Werry

Managing Partner, Altas Partners

The landscape for investors in real assets is shifting fast: renewables are scaling, digital infrastructure is exploding, and traditional sectors like transportation and real estate face structural reinvention. And with private credit increasingly intertwined with real-asset financing, is the boundary between these asset classes disappearing? This roundtable will examine risk, return, and the diverse opportunity set found in today’s real-asset market.

 

MODERATOR

Bryan Reid

Executive Director, Global Private Assets Research and Development, MSCI

 

SPEAKER

Scott Davies

Managing Director, Co-Head of Real Estate, Hamilton Lane

Alfred Griffin

CIO, Coalition for Green Capital

Monica Huffer

Portfolio Manager, Private Markets, TMRS

Bill Kieser

Principal & Co-Head of Research & Data Science, Ares' Quantitative Research Group, Ares Management

Hadley Peer Marshall

CFO, Managing Partner, Brookfield Asset Management

Louis Yu

Head of Data Science, BroadVail Capital Partners

With companies large enough to demonstrate proven economics yet small enough to offer meaningful value-creation upside, the middle market continues to attract record levels of capital. But is the opportunity set expanding…or becoming overcrowded? Are today’s valuation expectations sustainable? How are sponsors sourcing proprietary deals when everyone claims they have an edge? And with rising interest rates and tighter credit conditions, which operational levers actually move the needle for middle-market companies?

 

MODERATOR

Brian Bolcar

Senior Portfolio Manager, Private Equity, North Carolina Investment Authority

 

SPEAKER

Jordan Peer Griffin

Executive Managing Director & Global Head of Capital Formation, H.I.G. Capital

Nitin Gupta

Managing Partner and Co-CIO, Flexstone Partners

Michael Painter

Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Plexus Capital

Private markets are awash in capital yet constrained by liquidity. As fundraising slows and holding periods stretch, an array of liquidity solutions has come to market. From secondaries to continuation vehicles (cvs), from GP stakes to CV²… how are investors thinking about opportunities, trade-offs, and best practices?

 

MODERATOR

Dan Murphy

Managing Director, Head of Portfolio Allocation, Carlyle

 

SPEAKER

Wes Bradle

Senior Portfolio Manager, Head of PE Co-Investments, Florida SBA

Ginny Chiarello

Managing Director, Portfolio Finance Team, Barings

Will Duckett

Co-Founder & COO, Equity Shift

As the “total portfolio approach” gains momentum, private assets are being re-evaluated not as standalone sleeves but as components of a unified, risk-balanced portfolio. This panel discussion will examine how these assets fit into a holistic portfolio framework and address some of the important questions generated by TPA. Are illiquid assets truly delivering the diversification benefits investors assume? How should allocators size long-duration exposures when liquidity demands are rising? And what happens when traditional benchmarks no longer capture the role private markets play in a total-portfolio context? How should TPA adopters balance the tension between maximizing returns and maintaining flexibility?

 

MODERATOR

Dominic Garcia

Chief Pension Investment Strategist, CBRE

 

SPEAKER

Dan Bienvenue

Managing Director, Capital Solutions, General Atlantic

Avi Turetsky

Partner, Head of Quantitative Research Group, Ares Management

Farshid Zoghalchi

Senior Associate, CPP Investments

The landscape for technology, startups, and the economy continues to rapidly change, while competition for investment opportunities intensifies, and firms face increased scrutiny from regulators and the public. Even as valuations are recalibrated, the interest in AI, climate tech, and healthcare innovation remains high. Join our panelists for a discussion of the challenges and the opportunities facing venture capital in an era defined by disruption.

 

MODERATOR

David Jones

Co-Founder and General Partner, Bull City Venture Partners

 

SPEAKER

Paris Heymann

Co-Managing Partner for Growth Equity, JP Morgan Private Capital

Edwin Poston

Co-Founder & Senior Advisor, TrueBridge Capital Partners

Tripp Taliaferro

Managing Director, Private Investments, Spider Management

Private credit has become one of the most dynamic—and debated—corners of the alternatives landscape, offering investors yield, diversification, and a front-row seat to structural shifts in the global lending market. This roundtable discussion will take a wide-angle view of the asset class, exploring the strategies, sectors, and structures best positioned to balance risk and return.

 

MODERATOR

Ralph Eissler

Managing Director, Head of Private Assets Research & Development, MSCI

 

SPEAKER

Isaac Beckel

Investing Director, Head of Private Markets, MOSERS

Eric Dennis

Head of Portfolio Analytics, Strategic Capital Group, PGIM

Matthias Ederer

Senior Managing Director, Blue Owl Capital

Justin Karp

Managing Director, Secondary and Portfolio Finance Team, Carlyle AlpInvest

Jeff Laffond

Senior Vice President, Hedge Funds, Aksia

Michael Severance

Investment Professional, PSERS