Your once-a-month insider on talent + alternative investments.
The Locke-Down is a once-monthly newsletter for our closest contacts on topics related to talent and alternative investments. The newsletter covers 3 simple things:
What we’re hearing in the market,
What we’re reading, and
What we’re up to.
We are in the market, daily, and want to share our insights. We want to hear from you. What information would be valuable? We’re always available. Get in touch with us.
What we’re hearing
Hiring Momentum. Forget the weak jobs report. We were unseasonally busy in August, and the momentum is rolling into September. We see two drivers for the alternative investments industry: (1) pent-up hiring demand that was put on ice after Liberation Day, and (2) the steady expansion of private capital markets. Importantly, we are hearing about new hires, not backfills. Hot spots include Fundraising & IR (across strategies), all things Asset-Based Finance (ABF), and Private Equity.
ABL Rising. We’ve long highlighted the growth of ABF, but Asset-Based Lending (ABL) – lending to corporates rather than asset originators – is gaining prominence. Sponsors are pushing Direct Lenders for more ABL facilities, ABF funds are adding commercial finance strategies, and pure-play asset-based lenders like Great Rock are moving up-market and taking injections of capital to expand. We expect each of these players to grow their ABL businesses in 2025 and 2026.
Credit Secondaries Skepticism. One private credit executive we interviewed is doubtful about the credit secondaries boom. Yes, there are bullish signs – Coller Capital blew past their fundraising target in July and Pantheon beat their 2024 deployment numbers by August ’25 – but questions remain on asset quality, pricing, and whether the market can ever rival PE secondaries in scale.
What we’re reading
(Pitchbook) Back to leverage: PE firms pull back on equity component in buyouts
(Bloomberg) Pod shops are the new banks
What we’re up to
PE + Data Science. We are launching a search for a Data Scientist for a leading software buyouts team. As a member of the investment team, this person will harness proprietary and alternative data to enhance sourcing efforts, diligence companies, and sharpen broader investment themes with data-driven insights. This “quantamental” approach to investing is long-proven in the hedge fund industry and just gaining steam in PE.
Hiring Spotlight. Alex Ng joins King Street Capital Management as an Equity Trader.
Welcome To The Team, Marco! We are proud to announce that Marco Ammirati has joined The Locke Group as a Search Consultant. Based in New York, Marco will hire for alternative investment and asset management clients. Previously, Marco worked for 4 years at Arrow Search Partners. We are excited for the expertise, energy, and fresh perspective Marco brings to Locke team.
Sincerely,
The Locke Group