Clients' Evolving Preferences: Funds vs. Directs

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

The Goldman Sachs Alternatives Summit “convened leaders across finance, geopolitics, technology, and culture” to discuss themes driving global markets.

2025’s Alternatives Summit was about “navigating a world in flux,” as the firm’s recap of its event noted. 

The event aimed to help investors cut through the noise and put together the pieces of the puzzle in a dynamic and increasingly complex world. 

Alt Goes Mainstream joined the event to have unscripted conversations with Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders to cut through the noise by unpacking key themes and trends at the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

In this special series, we went behind the scenes and interviewed six Goldman Sachs Alternatives leaders about their current thinking on private markets and how the firm has built and evolved its private markets capabilities.

This conversation was with Jeff Fine, Partner, Global Co-Head of Alternatives Capital Formation within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with responsibility for capital raising, product strategy, research and investor relations across private equity, private credit, real assets, secondaries, GP stakes and hedge funds/liquid alternatives. 

Jeff is a member of the Real Estate Investment Committee and Urban Investment Group Investment Committee. Jeffrey is also on the boards of GS Real Estate Investment Trust and GS Real Estate Finance Trust. Previously, he was Global Head of Real Estate Client Solutions for Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a senior real estate investor in the Merchant Banking Division for more than 20 years. Jeffrey joined Goldman Sachs in 2002 in the Merchant Banking Division as an Analyst. He was named Managing Director in 2012 and Partner in 2018. Jeff is Chairman of the Dyson School Advisory Council and a member of the SC Johnson College of Business Leadership Council at Cornell University. He is a member of the Cornell Endowment’s Risk, Liquidity, and Operations Subcommittee and the Board of Directors of the Pension Real Estate Association Foundation. Jeffrey is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Met Council at the Brookings Institution.

Jeff and I had a fascinating conversation about the intersection of private markets and private wealth, fundraising trends, and the growing role of insurers and the wealth channel in private markets capital formation. We covered:

• The evolving private markets landscape.
• The important role of the product specialist.
• The impact of AI on investing and what it means for private markets.
• What it takes to be a great investor.
• The importance of the value creation process in driving investment value.
• The future of capital formation in private markets.

Thanks Jeff for sharing your wisdom, expertise, and passion about private markets and private wealth.

Show Notes
01:05 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

02:08 Jeff Fine's Background and Career Journey

03:43 Sophistication in the Market

05:05 The Role of Product Specialists

07:16 Talent and Resourcing in Asset Management 

08:01 The War for Talent in Asset Management

09:07 Investment Performance as a Priority

10:05 Balancing Origination and LP Demand

11:42 Meeting Client Needs in Wealth Channel

12:06 Transparency and Risk Communication

12:59 Growth in Private Markets

18:07 Global Capital and Diversification

19:31 Smart Allocation in Private Markets

20:58 Private Credit as a Yield Instrument

22:23 The Role of Insurance in Private Markets

24:33 Customization and Scale in Private Markets

28:55 Trends in LP Relationships

30:39 Strategic Partnerships and Cost Efficiency

31:40 Concerns About Market Valuations

32:43 Belief in a Transformative Future

35:24 Advice for LPs in Current Market

36:21 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.