PARTNER CONTENT
As private equity strategies become more sophisticated, operational complexity increases. Diana Dumitru: Director Client Services – Private Equity at Vistra – winner of the Solution Provider of the Year: ManCo award at the Private Equity Wire European Awards 2025 – outlines how the company helps streamline operations, and delivers real-time insights so clients can focus on value creation…
What is your firm’s service offering?
We offer solutions that make private capital investment flow — through end-to-end fund solutions, SPV management, and support for fund manager operations. We combine global fund and regulatory expertise, flexible support models, and smart technology with ideas, data and insights to make global investment feel frictionless.
What economic forces – in Europe and/or globally – do you anticipate having the biggest impact on your business over the next 12 months?
The main economic forces influencing our operations, fund management and response to market conditions are evolving investor preferences, technological advancements and regulatory changes.
A shift in LPs’ preferences: Investors seeking alternatives with less correlation to traditional equities are increasingly turning to private equity. At the same time, hedge funds are becoming more popular due to their ability to capitalise on market volatility and provide a range of investment options that reduce risk and enhance returns.
There is also rapid growth in thematic investing (such as long-term trends in technology or renewable energy) and impact investing, which focuses on achieving positive environmental and social outcomes.
Technology developments: More complex applications, more robust platforms, and greater expertise are now required to meet the demands of an increasingly sophisticated investor market. As bespoke solutions become key differentiators, innovations in artificial intelligence (AI), digital currencies, blockchain and asset tokenisation offer the potential for operational efficiencies, cost-savings and enhanced competitiveness.
Regulatory overhaul: Scrutiny continues to intensify, with directives such as the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), MiFID II and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). These impose stringent requirements on fund managers and demand that administrators maintain operational efficiency while managing increased compliance obligations.
How are you preparing for the above?
As an organisation, we build robust business models and resilient operations, adapting to new, market-specific realities. We take proactive steps to remain agile and aligned with evolving market dynamics through:
- Adjustment or launch of competitive services that meet our clients’ changing preferences
- Staff training in emerging trends, investor concerns and new regulations
- Support in administering flexible, multi-asset class funds for our clients that can quickly adapt to shifting investor priorities
One of our top priorities is investment in IT infrastructure – ensuring systems are scalable and secure. We embrace automation across accounting, reporting and cash management, and adopt AI (such as Geni) and cloud-based solutions for data storage and processing. We also continue to enhance cybersecurity through multi-factor authentication, encryption, and active monitoring for vulnerabilities.
We prepare for regulatory changes by establishing a robust framework for ongoing compliance. This includes close monitoring of developments, regular staff training to embed a strong culture of compliance, maintaining strong data governance, and ensuring timely and transparent regulatory reporting.
What has been the most significant change you’ve observed in the European private markets industry in the past 12 months?
Higher interest rates, persistent inflation and increased geopolitical uncertainty have shaken the private equity market – slowing dealmaking and disrupting portfolio companies. Yet private equity dealmaking rebounded last year across buyout, growth equity and venture capital sub-assets.
2024 also marked the first year since 2015* in which private equity LPs saw net positive cash flows – a sign that persistent investor demands are being proactively addressed by GPs.
Alongside this, sponsors are demonstrating a growing willingness to write bigger tickets, underpinned by stronger conviction in their ability to realise higher returns and renewed confidence in the industry’s growth outlook. Their buying preferences continue to evolve, with technology, consumer and financial services sectors leading the recovery in large private equity deals.
What are the key developments to watch in the private markets space, and how is your service offering helping firms navigate them?
One noticeable trend is the continuously evolving regulatory environment. Key 2025 updates across Europe include new directives on anti-money laundering (AML) and artificial intelligence (AI), enhanced ESG compliance with more accurate and transparent metrics, and ATAD III – requiring financial services companies to adjust tax structures and increase scrutiny on cross-border transactions.
We help our clients navigate these changes through active regulatory monitoring, ensuring that their structures remain compliant, and filing both regulatory and tax compliance reports. As reporting becomes more detailed and frequent, we invest in technology-driven solutions to automate data collection and reporting — reducing manual workload and enhancing consistency and accuracy.
Another development is the increased focus of private equity firms on operational improvements and AI integration across their portfolio companies – a clear signal of accelerating digital transformation. We reduce operational burden by managing treasury, accounting and administrative functions for our clients, enabling them to concentrate on core investment activities. We also enhance data management by offering centralised systems that integrate disparate data sources – reducing manual input, minimising risk, and driving efficiency.
* Global Private Markets Report 2025 | McKinsey
Diana Dumitru: Director Client Services – Private Equity, Vistra
