Sustainable capital management in an era of AI and populism

Hugo Llewelyn I Guest writer for New Private Markets I 18 August 2025

The era of cheap capital is over – but has the private markets industry truly adapted?

In this timely piece, Newcore’s CEO, Hugo Llewelyn highlights how rising interest rates, climate risk, and political instability should have sparked a reset in capital management. Instead, short termism persists, aided by populist politics and a retreat from sustainability commitments.

Key takeaways:

• The illusion of progress: Post-Covid and post-QE, many hoped for a shift to disciplined, long term investing. Instead, financial engineering and populist policy threaten deeper inequality and systemic risk.
• The AI wildcard: Disruption from artificial intelligence could drive industrial scale job losses, compounding the political and economic instability we see today.
• Three tiers of true impact:
  1. Asset level – socially useful, resilient investments
  2. Fund level – conservative leverage, strong governance
  3. Management platform level – ethical leadership and tax responsibility
  

At Newcore, we remain steadfast in our commitment to responsible, sustainable investing in UK social infrastructure, aiming to deliver long-term value and risk-adjusted returns through ethical, transparent capital management. In today’s volatile climate, clarity of mission and integrity of execution matter more than ever.

Read the full article here – https://www.newprivatemarkets.com/sustainable-capital-management-in-an-era-of-ai-and-populism/