ASC Advisors February 2025 Newsletter
ASC Advisors February Newsletter
Welcome to ASC Advisors’ monthly newsletter, where we provide thoughts around recent developments or factors affecting the alternative investment management industry as well as provide updates on our firm and team.
2025 Media Memo
Last month, we released our 12th annual media memo, tracking media moves across the industry, providing insights regarding coverage trends in 2024, as well as an outlook for 2025. This month, we highlight a few major reporter beat changes and trends that occurred in 2024. To see more media moves at top publications and trades, contact us for the full report.
Select 2024 Media Moves
The Wall Street Journal saw a number of high-profile promotions and beat changes, including David Benoit and Cara Lombardo, who both previously covered activism and M&A at different times, being named Co-New York Bureau Chiefs and Lauren Thomas being named Lead Deals Reporter, where she will continue to cover M&A and activism.
The Financial Times added Amelia Pollard, Maria Heeter, Alexandra Heal and Sun Yu to its investment team. Amelia joined from Bloomberg and will be covering hedge funds, Maria joined from The Information and has been covering activism, Alexandra is covering private equity and private credit, and Sun moved to New York to cover investment management.
Bloomberg added David Carnavali and Pamela Babagli to its M&A team, and Olivia Fishlow joined the Private Credit team from Pitchbook. The publication also added Kate Clark and Katie Roof to cover venture capital.
On the regulatory side, Andrew Ackerman moved to The Washington Post from the Wall Street Journal to cover how Washington oversees Wall Street, including the Federal Reserve, financial regulation and housing finance.
Key Topics from 2024
Regulatory Oversteps
In 2024, private fund managers faced heightened regulatory scrutiny, particularly from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Chair Gary Gensler. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also introduced rules around publicity of investigations upon launch, as well as sustainability-focused rules. While there has been a global shift toward more rigorous oversight, managers and industry participants have hit back hard on these efforts - and their efforts to combat regulatory overreach have largely been successful.
Stock Picking and Hedge Fund Successes
Equity hedge funds enjoyed their strongest year since 2020. Stock pickers saw the most success in identifying sector-specific winners such as AI and tech stocks, which carried the year, outperforming broader indices. Beyond long/short equity, 2024 was a strong year for firms that employ macro, multi-strat and event-driven strategies. According to Pensions & Investments, hedge fund assets under management reached an all-time high in 2024, approaching $5 trillion.
Proliferation of A.I.
Investment managers are increasingly looking to implement AI into the management of their strategies, helping guide risk and investment decisions. This trend among investment managers is accompanied by outstanding performance of AI stocks in the past year, and increased investment in AI to improve businesses’ computing capabilities. According to research published by Boston Consulting Group, 89% of business leaders state that AI is a top priority for 2025 and the recent announcement of Project Stargate by the incoming administration signals a similar focus on a national level.
If you are interested in reading the entire report or discussing these media changes and topics of focus, please let us know. We look forward to hearing from you.
