Pulse: Where Financial Shifts Meet A Technological Lens
- Templum
- Aug 15
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 17
A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO, CHRIS PALLOTTA
This month, we are relaunching Pulse, our newsletter where financial shifts meet a technological lens. We’ve grouped our news by topic and trend as well as consolidated Templum’s commentary.
There’s evidence of growing international interest in alternative investments and proposed legislation in multiple jurisdictions to broaden access, but also a call for brokers and advisors to impose safeguards and provide deep education to investors. Included in this edition of Pulse are the findings of several surveys, including Templum’s survey, that substantiate the rising interest in alternatives and the need for modern technology to automate workflows and knit together an aging network of investment infrastructure to meet increased demand.
The market participants that recognize the need for modern infrastructure are, in our opinion, best positioned to benefit from the swell in demand for private market alternative investments. At Templum we have purpose-built our investment and regulatory platform, and have included what’s required for investing in private market alternatives to scale. Moreover, we include our clients in the feedback loop for development, so we’re building what asset managers, investors, advisors, and retail investors need (access to an ever-growing list of unique opportunities and a modern investing platform).
I hope you enjoy the read.
IN THIS ISSUE OF THE PULSE:
LEGISLATION ON THE MOVE
There’s movement stateside and abroad for legislation that opens private market investing interests. Outside of the United States, there is consistent reporting on the rise of demand for alternatives in Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. A noteworthy read is an article out of the UK that speaks to the role of private equities in solving public challenges. Read more below.
Big changes could be coming to your 401(k) – Employers sponsoring retirement funds in the United States can now offer alternative assets as an investment opportunity to their employees. That’s due to President Donald Trump’s signature on an executive order signed on Thursday, August 7, 2025. The move is being called a first step because it is. It’s a call to review and roll back legislation still in place from 50 years ago (1974).
With firms staying private longer (roughly 25 times more individual firms in private equity), the options in public markets have seen less growth. With increased access, however, comes increased pressure for advisors to choose investments based on factors beyond returns alone. Specifically, advisors are responsible for evaluating private market opportunities and the sub-advisors managing investments. Read more.
ABROAD: A GLOBAL VIEW, $1 TRILLION SHIFT IN MOTION
Australian Market in the alternatives space – Australian investors have long built out allocations in private markets. Now the seventh-largest superfund in the country, AustralianSuper from Colonial First State (CFS), is raising its stake in the game of alts to bring diversification into the portfolio through US private markets. The bank has partnered with JP Morgan and is focusing on secondaries and co-investments. This recent partnership underscores the rising global appetite for diversification through US private market alternatives. Read more.
The critical role of private capital, globally – In an article out of the UK, an editor addresses the interconnectedness of governments and private equity. The role that private capital plays – a “critical partner in solving public challenges”. Private capital is now under scrutiny and suspicion; however it has played a critical role in technology transformation across the industries, which is being credited with “financing the backbone of tomorrow’s economy”.
Ultimately, the structural shifts happening today are reshaping where capital flows – and how – A report from HSBC and New Financial shows that over $1 trillion in value has migrated from public exchanges to private ownership in Europe alone over the past decade, reflecting a global rebalancing toward private markets as the center of gravity for growth, innovation, and long-term value creation.
Meanwhile, with family offices in the Middle East now allocating up to 50% of their portfolios to alternatives and Moody’s and MSCI launching independent private credit risk benchmarks, the ecosystem is evolving fast.
EVOLUTION AND RETAIL EXPANSION IN EVERGREEN FUNDS
From Goldman Sachs predicting the growing popularity of Evergreen funds (see graph below) to Private Equity International’s take on them, Evergreen funds have taken a spotlight in the news. Goldman Sachs also predicted a convergence in private and public markets and is looking at new Evergreen fund models to give “diversification without compromise”. Read more below.
Private credit goes big on open-ended funds to lure retail cash – Evergreen funds have been attractive to retail investors due to the ability to “cash out at periodic intervals and accept money on an ongoing basis”. Goldman Sachs has predicted a record number of them being opened this year. Now there’s about $12.5 trillion from retirement funds that may be on the table from an executive order last week (see graph above), and firms are rapidly mobilizing to create hybrid evergreen frameworks. Read more.
Evergreen Funds’ Limits are a deliberate feature – Private Equity International’s latest article positions limits in evergreen funds as a “deliberate feature” in the latest article. What’s that design feature? It protects the long-term investor from losing gains in the short term.
A Convergence Is Underway – The lines between public and private markets are also beginning to blur. As Goldman Sachs notes, integrated strategies – including evergreen structures that offer durability and flexibility – are gaining traction among both institutional and individual investors. The message is clear: capital allocators want diversification without compromise, and they’re increasingly willing to adopt new models to get it.
Differentiated fund product is key to long-term success – Susan Long McAndrews formerly served as chief executive of Pantheon Securities, gave an overview of private market evolution. When asked how private markets may evolve, she predicted the creation of evergreen funds and a tailwind at the heels of secondaries. When asked the keys to success – she pointed to differentiated product and market consolidation brought by private fintech companies.
CAN SECONDARIES PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY WITH THE RISING CONCERNS OF TIGHTENING LIQUIDITY AND TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT?
Private equity’s return over the last ten years averaged 12.5%, and J.P.M. put out a market survey report that substantiates the statistic. Although the outperformance holds steady, there’s concerns about tightening liquidity that has investment attention turning towards the secondary market. Read more below.
Private Markets Hit a Turning Point: Outperformance Holds, But Infrastructure and Liquidity Demand a Rethink – As we move through 2025, private markets are entering a more complex phase – one defined by continued outperformance but also growing pressure around liquidity and infrastructure. The value proposition of alternatives holds – private equity delivered a 12.5% median annual return over the past decade, according to J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s latest alternatives report. But behind the returns, liquidity is tightening, workflows remain fragmented, and scale remains elusive for many. As a result, investors are rethinking not just allocation strategies, but also how they manage liquidity, tap secondaries, and adopt technology infrastructure that can support automation, transparency, and broader access.
Performance vs. Liquidity: The Great Divergence – While returns continue to exceed those of public markets, liquidity has become a central concern. Slower M&A activity and fewer exits have pushed distribution rates in venture capital to just 5.4%, well below historical averages. The result is a dramatic rise in secondaries activity, as investors seek flexibility in a less fluid environment – a trend Private Equity International notes will continue through 2025 and beyond.
WIDESPREAD CHANGE – IT’S HITTING FAMILY OFFICE & RETAIL
Family Offices and Retail Investors Drive Structural Change – It’s not just institutions feeling the impact. Family offices are also repositioning. – According to a new study from BlackRock, these investors are prioritizing diversification, resilience, and optionality – favoring evergreen fund structures, continuation vehicles, and niche private strategies over rigid commitments.
Rise of the retail investor – At the same time, the long-heralded rise of the retail investor in private markets is rapidly materializing. State Street reports that 50% of private market flows are expected to come from individual investors by 2027, with semi-liquid products leading the charge. Supporting this shift, the SEC has signaled it may revisit long-standing restrictions that limit retail exposure to private funds – a move that could transform how access is structured and delivered. A recent survey from Lansons further confirms the appetite: U.S. retail investors could drive up to $1.3 trillion in new capital into alternatives, especially if transparency and accessibility improve. But awareness remains a hurdle.
FINANCE UNDER THE TECHNOLOGY LENS
The infrastructure gap is real. It’s holding the industry back – Despite the demand, the ecosystem enabling access to alternatives remains fragmented. In a recent WealthTech Today feature, advisors voiced frustrations with manual workflows, disconnected systems, and opaque processes that make it difficult to scale. Whether serving institutions, advisors, or individuals, platforms must move beyond legacy tech to deliver modern, integrated infrastructure that simplifies everything from onboarding and execution to reporting and liquidity. Learn more about it in Templum’s recent survey.
This is precisely the gap that partnerships like the one between Templum and J.P. Morgan Asset Management aim to solve – bringing institutional-grade private real estate to a broader set of investors through automated, digital-first solutions. By embedding access to alternatives within a fully integrated platform, this kind of partnership eliminates barriers and meets the growing demand for seamless private investment experiences.
But to unlock the full potential of this transformation, private markets need more than demand – they need infrastructure that matches the moment. The firms that can deliver access, automation, and adaptability will shape the next era of private investing.
ABOUT TEMPLUM
Templum is moving private markets investing forward with the network layer that unifies the entire ecosystem. As a solution partner, Templum provides full investment lifecycle technologies, workflow solutions, and broker-dealer support via configurable white label, hybrid, or API deployments. The Company’s two offerings (Templum One and Templum as a Service) are designed to enable private market strategies for TAMPs, RIAs, institutional brokers, banks, fintechs, online brokers, and asset managers. Templum is modernizing the technology backbone and opening access to a broader range of investment opportunities for a growing investor base. The Company’s vision is to expand capital markets, making a radical departure from the outmoded technology hindering investments today.
All securities offered by Templum Markets LLC, a wholly owned broker-dealer and Alternative Trading System (ATS) subsidiary of Templum, Inc. For more information, please visit https://templuminc.com.
