00:00Why this partnership is necessary beyond your love for the game, right?
00:04Because you're already one of the biggest fundraisers in the world.
00:11Yeah, so what we're seeing is that a larger share of the value creation in the global economy today
00:17is happening in the private markets.
00:20What we're also seeing is that public market indices have become very, very concentrated,
00:26driven by a handful of stocks and larger companies.
00:31So as a result, private wealth and retail investors,
00:34they want to get exposure to the value creation in the private markets.
00:39And as the largest firm in the private markets outside of the U.S.,
00:44we have a big opportunity and a big responsibility to play here.
00:50And that's why we want to continue to invest into our distribution capabilities,
00:53companies, but also our brand recognition.
00:56And that's why we're announcing this partnership with the ATP today.
01:03Andrea, let me ask you a similar question, but from the other side.
01:06Obviously, sponsorships are good for you, but there's always this noise around tennis.
01:10It's such a fragmented business that it could be more efficient.
01:13How important is it for you to have these kinds of sponsorships,
01:17to have these kinds of deals, to make sure that the ATP continues to be profitable
01:21and generate the kind of money that matches the fandom around global tennis?
01:28Oh, super important.
01:30So fragmentation is definitely a challenge, but we have record numbers.
01:34The sport has record numbers across all metrics.
01:36We have over a billion fans, record revenue, record attendance, record player compensation.
01:41So just imagine with an aligned governance and commercial engine,
01:46you know, the opportunity is huge.
01:47And a smart investor like EQT recognizing that is a great signal for us.
01:52So we're super happy.
01:54Can I ask, Andrea, is the future of tennis more like F1,
02:00where it's, I guess, centralized, premium, global, sponsor-rich,
02:05or is it structurally harder because, you know, to Danny's point, it's very fragmented?
02:14Look, ultimately, you need to put the fans at the core.
02:17And the goal is to increase and improve the fan experience.
02:20And if you can do that with a centralized approach in terms of governance
02:24and commercial delivery of our product, that would be ideal.
02:28Obviously, you know, tennis is an old sport.
02:30So we have four Grand Slam, the ATP, and the WTA.
02:33But we made incredible progress in the last few years,
02:36and I'm very optimistic that we will find a solution
02:38because, ultimately, we deserve to be a top-tier-one sport in every market.
02:45Well, Per, I'm surprised with your love of the sport and EQT, shall we say, dabbling in sports,
02:51that this is, at the moment, just a sponsorship.
02:53Do you think you and Andrea might have a conversation down the road of you taking a stake in the
02:58ATP,
02:58much like CBC has done with the WTA?
03:05So, first of all, I am definitely a passionate tennis player and a big fan of the sport,
03:12but that's not driving this decision today to enter this partnership, right?
03:18I mean, the ATP is just a perfect fit for us at EQT.
03:25As I mentioned earlier, we're a truly global firm.
03:28We've got two-thirds of our capital invested across Asia, across Europe, one-third in the U.S.
03:34So we needed a truly global international partner,
03:37and tennis is quite differentiated in that regard.
03:41It's a really global sport.
03:43So if you look at the top 100 players, among those top 100 players, there's more than 40 different nationalities.
03:50So it's a great fit from that perspective.
03:52It's also a great fit for us from a brand philosophy perspective, right?
03:57Our philosophy at EQT is that everything can always be improved.
04:01There's no end to better.
04:04And we're also very performance-driven.
04:06And that's, of course, also the spirit of tennis.
04:08And that's why this is such a great match between the ATP and EQT.
04:14And really look forward to the partnership with Andrea.
04:17In terms of your question, Danny, yeah, I mean, we think sports is an interesting asset class.
04:24We think also tennis is interesting from that perspective.
04:29There's still a lot of potential in tennis.
04:32But we're also looking at the space more broadly, including entertainment, including areas such as infrastructure, technology.
04:41And, of course, as I think you well know, through our Asia funds, we're also the majority shareholder of the
04:50ING Academy,
04:51which is a big sports school operator, including the tennis academy, the former Boletari Academy in Florida.
05:00My kid brother went to Boletari in Bradenton, Florida.
05:03I'll just throw in there.
05:04Listen, having said that, I'm more of a motorsport guy, right?
05:08I spend all of my time watching F1 and MotoGP.
05:11So every morning when Danny comes into work, she updates me on the latest tennis details, what's going on with
05:17Roland Garros.
05:18So the fact that Serena is coming back.
05:21And, Andrea, that leads me to wonder if you shouldn't really be considering more seriously a merger between ATP and
05:30the WTA.
05:31Doesn't it make sense, much like Liberty has done with MotoGP and F1, to put the two under the same
05:35umbrella?
05:39I'd love to.
05:40That at the core, at the one vision plan of ATP, of unifying tennis, ATP, WTA, and the four slams
05:46in a unified governance and a commercial aggregation.
05:49It's definitely the goal because that's what the fans want to see.
05:52You know, tennis is a global sport.
05:54Men and women, that is a unique selling point.
05:56And that's going to be what we work, what we will work on for the next few years.
06:03Well, you'll have to update us if we get any closer to that.
06:06Per, in the meantime, this is obviously a partnership, as you mentioned, that's targeted towards wealth, more retail-type investors.
06:12It's an investor base you and I have talked about.
06:14We talked about it, Milken, that, you know, the term semi-liquid should retire.
06:18There is still stress.
06:19And we had news, Matt talked to the Partners Group CEO, that on their evergreen funds, that they are facing
06:25redemption requests because of this short seller.
06:27You have a very large evergreen fund in EQT Nexus.
06:31Are you feeling any of the same pressure?
06:37So, I can't comment on, of course, what our peers are seeing, what they are doing.
06:43What we're seeing is still very strong performance in our private wealth products.
06:49We continue to see strong momentum.
06:51In our Q1 report, we communicated that we had more or less zero redemptions in our private wealth products.
06:58We communicated that it was a record quarter for us in terms of inflows, more than 1.2 billion euros.
07:05And we communicated the positive outlook for this part of our business.
07:10And today, I have no reason to change that outlook.
07:15What I'd also add is that private wealth and retail today is only 3% of our NAV.
07:23But it's an important growth area for us.
07:26And we want to continue to invest into this growth area, into our capabilities, into our brand.
07:32And we're doing this with a very, very long-term perspective.
07:37And we want to also approach this opportunity, as you and I discussed, Danny, in a responsible way.
07:42You know, it's interesting.
07:43With private credit and private equity, we hear from institutional investors that if retail wants out, they're happy to take
07:51them out.
07:52Now, it's an especially attractive asset for institutions and high-net-worth individuals.
08:00So, Per, will you be giving discounts maybe to wealthy players like Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Janik Sinner?
08:10Do they get a little bit of a reduced fee at EQT with this partnership?
08:17I do think that, you know, sports, professional sports, actors, players, champions, that this is, you know, the private market
08:28is also an attractive place for them to compound their capital and continue to build wealth over time.
08:38But, you know, as we approach this private wealth and retail opportunity, what's really, really important for us is that
08:46we treat all of our investors in the same way and that we maintain the same underwriting standards for all
08:54of the products that we're offering, whether it's the institutional products, the private wealth products.
08:58And that we also market and present those opportunities in a responsible way so that private wealth and retail investors
09:09also can get access to that diversification, that value creation that we can offer at EQT.
09:17By the way, Matt, I should just point out, not only is Per an avid tennis fan, I have it
09:21on very good authority that he is an excellent tennis player, too.
09:25And, in fact, maybe one of the best in the finance world.
09:28And just speaking of the best, the GOAT, Andrea, I have to ask you, what does it mean to the
09:32sport to have Serena coming back?
09:37It's huge.
09:38Look, and whatever brings more eyeballs to the sport and attention to tennis, it's amazing.
09:43We really wish her well.
09:45We'd love her to have her back.
09:46She's been so important for the game.
09:48And we wish her good luck.
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