Citywire Private Office Forum 2026

The EJF Financial Services Fund is a long/short equity strategy focused on the financials sector, particularly small and mid-sized banks. Backed by EJF’s extensive experience and sector specialization, the fund seeks to capitalize on structural tailwinds such as deregulation and accelerating industry consolidation, alongside improving fundamentals like loan growth and expanding net interest margins. The strategy emphasizes active management to exploit inefficiencies in under-researched segments, where performance dispersion is high. Through flexible portfolio construction, disciplined risk controls, and targeted hedging, the fund aims to deliver consistent, risk-adjusted returns. Its differentiated approach leverages deep industry insight and access to proprietary opportunities not typically captured by passive investment strategies. 

Workshop Objectives: 

• Assess key structural and regulatory trends in the banking sector.
• Evaluate drivers of performance dispersion within small and mid cap US financials.
• Evaluate the relationship between interest rates and bank earnings

Company Profile:

EJF Capital is an SEC-registered alternative asset manager founded in 2005, focused on identifying investment opportunities driven by regulatory change within the financial services sector. Headquartered near Washington, D.C., with a presence in London, the firm manages approximately $5.4 billion across hedge funds, private equity, Real Estate and credit. EJF combines deep sector expertise with a value-oriented, fundamental approach and a macro overlay shaped by evolving regulation. The firm invests across the capital structure and emphasizes niche, underfollowed markets where pricing inefficiencies exist.

Our workshop will explore the investment case for digital assets, focusing on the key metrics that matter and the major drivers shaping the market. We’ll look at the different ways investors can gain exposure and the practical considerations around custody and safeguarding assets. The session is designed to give participants a clear, structured understanding of the evolving digital asset landscape.

Workshop Objectives:

1) Explain the role of digital asset custodians and their core functions within the wider investment ecosystem. 
2) Examine the principal operational, governance, and risk management considerations involved in safeguarding digital assets
3) Assess how custody arrangements support the secure participation of investors in digital asset markets.

Company Profile:

Fidelity Digital Assets® is a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments that provides an institutional-grade digital asset experience while incorporating the history, principles, and expertise of a traditional financial institution. Established in 2018, the business is uniquely built for institutional investors and offers secure custody, trading, and support solutions that scale with investors’ needs, allowing clients to navigate digital assets with confidence.

Octopus Energy Generation will explore how a combination of energy security, affordability and accelerating electrification is driving a structural shift in global power markets. The session will examine why renewables and storage have become among the lowest-cost sources of new electricity, while long-term demand for power continues to rise. We will consider the disconnect between market sentiment in the listed renewables space, and underlying sector fundamentals, alongside the significant investment required to meet future energy needs. Using listed and semi-liquid strategies as case studies, we will illustrate how different investment structures can provide exposure to these themes, offering a combination of income, growth and diversification. The session will highlight how investors can access these opportunities while supporting more resilient and sustainable energy systems.

Workshop Objectives:

Examine how energy security, cost dynamics, electrification and investment needs are driving demand for renewables, and assess how different investment structures can provide diversified exposure to these long-term energy transition opportunities.

This upcoming session will provide an in-depth overview of the private equity secondaries market and the key trends shaping today’s opportunity set. The session will begin with an examination of secondary market dynamics, highlighting continued growth in transaction volumes alongside elevated unrealized NAV and subdued cash flow yields across traditional private equity. The session will then feature a deep dive into LP-led secondaries, highlighting evolving seller motivations, portfolio management considerations, and market supply shifts. We will also explore the rise and continued evolution of the GP-led market, including the growing role of continuation vehicles (“CVs”) as an alternative exit route. Finally, the session will conclude with a focused discussion on Collateralized Fund Obligations (“CFOs”), outlining their structure and growing relevance in today’s secondaries landscape.

Workshop Objectives:

Enable participants to better understand current secondaries market dynamics, the benefits of LP interest and GP-led transactions, and how Collateralized Fund Obligations can enhance portfolio liquidity.

Company Profile:

StepStone Group Inc. (Nasdaq: STEP) is a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to its clients. As of December 31, 2025, StepStone was responsible for approximately $811 billion of total capital, including $220 billion of assets under management. StepStone’s clients include some of the world’s largest public and private defined benefit and defined contribution pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies, as well as prominent endowments, foundations, family offices and private wealth clients, which include high-net-worth and mass affluent individuals. StepStone partners with its clients to develop and build private markets portfolios designed to meet their specific objectives across the private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate asset classes.
For more information, visit StepStone Group.