Each new year brings with it the potential for change. 2025 is no different in this regard, with the potential for change being even more pronounced in light of the election results and technological developments. We transition to the Trump administration, with new leadership at regulatory agencies (such as Paul Atkins’ expected confirmation as Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman) and, for at least the next two years, single party control of the Executive Branch and both Houses of Congress. At the same time, the continued rise of artificial intelligence and other technologies serves as an agent of change in the global economy. Over the last half century, one of the hallmarks of the Private Capital industry’s enduring success has been its preternatural ability to adapt to and thrive in changing business and legal environments. However, successful adaptation is not a given; it requires Private Capital participants to anticipate key trends in advance and to filter out the distractions of herd thinking.
When we asked ourselves, “What should our Private Capital clients care about most in 2025?”, our panel of Freshfields experts compiled the following seven topics for your consideration and business planning in the year ahead.
- The Future of ESG and DEI
- Private Capital Goes Retail
- The AI Arms Race and Regulators’ Attempts to Keep Pace
- New Leadership at the SEC and how Resulting Substantive, Philosophical and Procedural Changes Will Impact Private Capital
- Congressional Investigative Focus
- A New Era for Antitrust?
- The Deregulation of Crypto and Its Role in Increasingly Creative Incentive Equity Structures
