Private Markets’ New Tension: Retail and Institutional Investors Collide

In this episode, I speak with Luke Sarsfield of Ridgepost Capital about what’s actually changing in private markets — and what isn’t.At the center of our conversation is a tension that’s easy to miss: investors in private markets aren’t just dealing with slower distributions or questions about liquidity. They’re adjusting to a broader mix of investors that are participating, but don’t behave the same way when markets turn.We also discuss:• How institutional investors are thinking about the flow of capital — with distributions taking longer and recycling becoming less predictable• What the last real stress test for private markets during the financial crisis taught investors — and what’s different this time• Why more than 80 percent of capital gets invested in 10 to 15 percent of private companies and what it says that the top financial firms “climb over each other” to finance and invest in them.• How investors should think about putting money to work during dislocations, a fundamental tenet of investing — and why some are leaning in while others hesitate• What risks may be building outside of private credit that investors seem to be ignoring