Read all articles and insights from LinksMate Capital & Ventures.
Capital Allocation as a Governance Decision
Capital allocation has traditionally been framed as a financial exercise: assess risk, forecast returns, allocate accordingly. That framing is no longer sufficient. In today’s environment, investment decisions are shaped as much by governance considerations as by financial metrics. Regulatory exposure, reputational risk, and jurisdictional complexity now exert material influence over where and how capital is deployed.
Digital Assets: From Narrative to Risk Assessment
Digital assets have matured beyond their early reputation as a speculative novelty. Institutional engagement has increased, market infrastructure has improved, and the asset class has become more embedded in broader financial conversations. Yet maturity should not be mistaken for stability. Digital assets remain volatile, policy-sensitive, and structurally complex—characteristics that demand sober assessment rather than narrative-driven enthusiasm.
Rethinking Fixed Income in a Changed Rate Regime
The return of yield has restored fixed income to the centre of portfolio construction. After more than a decade in which ultra-low interest rates distorted pricing and compressed income, bonds once again offer nominal returns that appear meaningful. Yet the temptation to view this as a simple reversion to the past should be resisted. Fixed income has returned—but the regime in which it now operates is fundamentally different.
Private Credit as a Structural Allocation
Private credit has undergone a quiet but consequential transformation. Once regarded as a tactical allocation designed to enhance yield in a low-rate environment, it has increasingly become a structural component of institutional portfolios. This shift reflects not only changing market conditions, but also a reconfiguration of the global credit ecosystem.
Private Equity: Fewer Deals, Higher Standards
Private equity activity has slowed markedly over the past two years. Deal volumes are down, exits have become more selective, and fundraising timelines have lengthened. For an industry accustomed to abundant liquidity and rapid capital deployment, this has prompted concern. Yet to characterise the slowdown as weakness is to misunderstand its significance. What the market is experiencing is not contraction, but recalibration.
Portfolio Construction in 2026: Discipline Over Prediction
As markets enter 2026, the defining challenge for investors is not a shortage of information but an excess of conviction. Macroeconomic outcomes remain highly path-dependent, policy signals are conditional rather than directional, and geopolitical risk continues to inject discontinuity into otherwise stable forecasts. In this environment, the traditional impulse to predict outcomes with precision has become less useful—and in some cases actively damaging.
Shadow Banking and Systemic Risk Re-Enter the Policy Conversation
Non-bank financial institutions have become an indispensable component of the global financial system. Over the past decade, they have filled gaps left by retrenching banks, providing credit to corporates, consumers, and governments through a growing array of funds, vehicles, and intermediaries. This expansion has supported economic activity and enhanced market flexibility. It has also reintroduced an old concern into policy debates: systemic risk accumulating outside the perimeter of traditional regulation.
Private Markets Open to Retail Capital—At a Cost
Private equity and private credit have long been the preserve of institutional investors, family offices, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. That boundary is now being tested. Asset managers, encouraged by regulatory changes and the search for new fee pools, are increasingly marketing private market strategies to retail and semi-professional investors.
Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies on AI and Financial Decision-Making
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how financial institutions assess risk, allocate capital, and interact with clients. From credit underwriting and fraud detection to portfolio construction and customer engagement, AI-driven tools promise efficiency gains and enhanced decision-making. Yet as adoption accelerates, regulators are moving decisively to assert oversight, signalling that technological innovation will be tolerated only insofar as it aligns with established principles of accountability, transparency, and market integrity.
Banking Sector Repositioning as Capital Markets Activity Shifts Regionally
Global investment banks are undergoing a strategic recalibration as capital markets activity fragments along regional lines. After a prolonged period of subdued issuance in the US and Europe, deal flow has begun to re-emerge elsewhere, particularly across parts of Asia where listings, private placements, and structured financings are regaining momentum.