🎥 Cantilever Group's Todd Owens - GP stakes: the best of all worlds? (live from New York)

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Today’s conversation features a live podcast that takes place at BTG Pactual’s NYC office for an audience in private markets.We are joined by Todd Owens, the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Cantilever Group, where BTG Pactual is an investor.Cantilever is an independent firm focused on providing capital solutions to middle market asset managers. The firm’s capital can be used to accelerate growth, support acquisitions or liftouts, fund GP commitments, seed new strategies, facilitate generational ownership transfer, and provide liquidity to founders. Cantilever focuses on asset management firms that have enterprise values between $50M and $500M. The team has executed on over $500M of GP stakes, financing, and seeding transactions as both investors and principals. The team’s advisory experience working with stakes funds includes over 15 GP stakes transactions, multiple GP stakes portfolio financings, numerous GP and BDC IPOs, and dozens of asset management financing and control transactions.Cantilever is working with two strategic partners as they build their firm: BTG Pactual, the ~$30B market cap Brazilian bank and wealth and asset manager has invested into Cantilever’s fund, and Broadhaven Ventures, the principal investment arm of Broadhaven Capital Partners.Todd has over 30 years of experience as an advisor covering financial institutions and as a senior financial services executive. Prior to founding Cantilever, Todd has been a Partner at Broadhaven Capital Partners, an independent financial services focused investment bank that’s completed over $100B in announced M&A transaction volume, as well as the former CEO of Fifth Street Finance. Todd began his career at Goldman, Sachs & Co, spending 24 years including as a Managing Director and Partner in the Investment Banking Division.Todd and I had a fascinating conversation about the GP stakes space and why the middle market represents a compelling part of the asset management ecosystem as the industry undergoes change and consolidation. We discussed:* The early days of alternative asset managers going public.* The evolution of the GP stakes market.* The role that GP stakes investing can play in the growth of alternative asset managers.* How and why GP stakes has shades of private equity, private credit, and secondaries in a single strategy. * A tale of two cities — the upper end of the market and the middle-market.* What will liquidity look like in the GP stakes space?Thanks Todd for sharing your wisdom and views on GP stakes and asset management.Clip #1: Is GP stakes the best of all worlds?Clip #2: How big does the middle market become?Clip #3: Will the middle market continue to persist?Show Notes00:00 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast00:40 Live Podcast at BTG Pactual's New York Office00:49 Introducing Todd Owens and Cantilever Group02:26 Welcome to Alt Goes Mainstream Live03:04 Todd's Background and Perspective03:42 Early Challenges in Minority Equity04:30 Alternative Asset Managers Going Public05:36 Evolution of the GP Stakes Market06:13 Understanding the Business Model06:53 Public vs. Private Market Perceptions08:44 The Role of GP Stakes in Firm Growth09:12 Different Approaches to Building a Business02:23 Lessons from advising Oaktree and Ares10:21 Sophistication in the Market10:53 Changes in Manager Skillsets11:59 Differences Between Upper and Middle Markets12:33 Opportunities in the Middle Market13:25 Strategic Value of Minority Equity Investors14:22 Market Stratification and Focus16:21 Future of the Middle Market18:17 Distribution of Private Markets to Wealth Channel19:08 Evolution of Wealth Management Industry20:29 Democratization of Alternatives21:19 GP Stakes: The Best of All Worlds?21:39 Investment Profile of GP Stakes23:29 Betting on Private Markets Growth24:18 Liquidity in the GP Stakes Space25:58 Quick Fire Questions26:05 Favorite Asset Class in 2025?26:46 Next Firm to Go Public?27:11 Complexity of Merging Firms28:06 Future of Middle Market GP Stakes28:50 Conclusion: Live Podcast Wrap-Up28:58 Thank You and Closing RemarksEditing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant. Join over 10,500 thought leaders from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield Oaktree, EQT, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit altgoesmainstream.substack.com