SWI Group: A new $11 billion titan reshaping alternative investment landscape
French billionaire Max-Hervé George orchestrates landmark merger creating powerful new investment platform
The alternative investment sector witnessed a transformative development last week as SWI Group officially launched, marking the culmination of a strategic merger between Icona Capital and Stoneweg. With combined assets under management exceeding US $11 billion, this newly formed entity has instantly positioned itself as a major player across multiple investment categories.
French entrepreneur Max-Hervé George, the driving force behind this integration, emphasized that the merger creates unprecedented opportunities for institutional investors seeking diversified exposure. "This key development elevates both organizations into a truly global platform with specialized expertise across complementary sectors," he noted during the announcement.
Spearheaded by co-CEOs Max-Hervé George (former CEO of Icona Capital) and Jaume Sabater (former CEO of Stoneweg), SWI Group is poised to leverage its international network of over 350 professionals across 18 countries to pursue investments through two specialized divisions.
Icona Alternatives will spearhead activities in Private Equity, Venture Capital, Special Situations, Liquid Strategy, Private Credit, and Sports & Entertainment, while Stoneweg Real Assets concentrates on Hospitality, Logistics, Offices, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Data Centers, and Experiential Ventures.
The formation comes on the heels of a significant $303 million acquisition of Cromwell Property Group's European fund management platform and affiliated co-investments, which includes a 27.8% stake in Cromwell European REIT. This has added $4.2 billion in real estate assets under management, thereby substantially broadening SWI Group's European footprint.
According to Max-Hervé George, SWI's strength lies in the union between its two companies, for it now provides enhanced efficiency and expanded international reach that delivers more attractive investment opportunities than either organization could offer independently. "Our approach centers on diversification and long-term value creation through expertise across multiple asset classes," he explained.
Industry analysts view this coalition as particularly timely, arriving amid growing institutional demand for alternative investments with strong risk-adjusted returns. The merger's scale enables SWI Group to offer institutional-grade investment products with the agility typically associated with boutique investment firms.
Max-Hervé George's vision for SWI Group reflects his broader investment philosophy of combining a global perspective with specialized local knowledge—a philosophy that is further reflected in the new brand's USP: a global presence anchored by local talent who are veterans in their chosen fields and who boast unparalleled local knowledge and networks that are extremely pertinent to such specialized jobs.
The group's dual-division structure allows for specialized focus while maintaining coordinated strategic direction, positioning SWI Group to capitalize on cross-sector investment themes that increasingly characterize the alternative investment landscape.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
2 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Less selection, More prices
With summer in full swing in the United States, retail executives are sweating a different season. It's less than 22 weeks before Christmas, a time when businesses that make and sell consumer goods usually nail down their holiday orders and prices. But President Donald Trump's vacillating trade policies have complicated those end-of-year plans. Balsam Hill, which sells artificial trees and other decorations online, expects to publish fewer and thinner holiday catalogs because the featured products keep changing with the tariff rates the president sets, postpones and revises. 'The uncertainty has led us to spend all our time trying to rejigger what we're ordering, where we're bringing it in, when it's going to get here,' Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill parent company Balsam Brands, said. 'We don't know which items we're going to have to put in the catalog or not.' Months of confusion over which foreign countries' goods may become more expensive to import has left a question mark over the holiday shopping season. US retailers often begin planning for the winter holidays in January and typically finalize the bulk of their orders by the end of June. The seesawing tariffs already have factored into their calculations. The consequences for consumers? Stores may not have the specific gift items customers want come November and December. Some retail suppliers and buyers scaled back their holiday lines rather than risking a hefty tax bill or expensive imports going unsold. Businesses still are setting prices but say shoppers can expect many things to cost more, though by how much depends partly on whether Trump's latest round of 'reciprocal' tariffs kicks in next month. The lack of clarity has been especially disruptive for the US toy industry, which sources nearly 80% of its products from China. American toy makers usually ramp up production in April, a process delayed until late May this year after the president put a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, according to Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of the Toy Association, an industry trade group. The US tariff rate may have dropped significantly from its spring high - a truce in the US-China trade war is set to expire on Aug. 12 - but continues to shape the forthcoming holiday period. Manufacturing activity is way down from a year ago for small- and medium-sized US toy companies, Ahearn said. The late start to factory work in China means holiday toys are only now arriving at US warehouses, industry experts said. A big unknown is whether tariffs will keep stores from replenishing supplies of any breakout hit toys that emerge in September, said James Zahn, editor-in-chief of the trade publication Toy Book. In the retail world, planning for Christmas in July usually involves mapping out seasonal marketing and promotion strategies. Dean Smith, who co-owns independent toy stores JaZams in Princeton, New Jersey, and Lahaska, Pennsylvania, said he recently spent an hour and a half running through pricing scenarios with a Canadian distributor because the wholesale cost of some products increased by 20%. Increasing his own prices that much might turn off customers, Smith said, so he explored ways to 'maintain a reasonable margin without raising prices beyond what consumers would accept.' He ordered a lower cost Crazy Forts building set so he would have the toy on hand and left out the kids' edition of the Anomia card game because he didn't think customers would pay what he would have to charge. 'In the end, I had to eliminate half of the products that I normally buy,' Smith said. Hilary Key, owner of The Toy Chest in Nashville, Indiana, said she tries to get new games and toys in early most years to see which ones she should stock up on for the winter holidays. This year, she abandoned her product testing for fear any delayed orders would incur high import taxes. Meanwhile, vendors of toys made in China and elsewhere bombarded Key with price increase notices. For example, Schylling, which makes Needoh, Care Bear collectibles and modern versions of nostalgic toys like My Little Pony, increased prices on orders by 20%, according to Key. All the price hikes are subject to change if the tariff situation changes again. Key worries her store won't have as compelling a product assortment as she prides herself on carrying. 'My concern is not that I'll have nothing, because I can bring in more books. I can bring in more gifts, or I can bring in just things that are manufactured in other places,' she said. 'But that doesn't mean I'm going to have the best stock for every developmental age, for every special need.' The retail industry may have to keep taking a whack-a-mole approach to navigating the White House's latest tariff ultimatums and temporary reprieves. Last week, the president again reset the rates on imports from Brazil, the European Union, Mexico, and other major trading partners but said they would not take effect until Aug. 1. The brief pause should extend the window importers have to bring in seasonal merchandise at the current baseline tariff of 10%. The Port of Los Angeles had the busiest June in its 117-year history after companies raced to secure holiday shipments, and July imports look strong so far, according to Gene Seroka, the port's executive director. 'In my view, we're seeing a peak season push right now to bring in goods ahead of potentially higher tariffs later this summer,' Seroka said Monday. The pace of port activity so far this year reflects a 'tariff whipsaw effect' - imports slowing when tariffs kick in and rebounding when they're paused, he said. 'For us consumers, lower inventory levels, fewer selections and higher prices are likely as we head into the holidays.' Smith, who co-owns the two JaZams stores with his partner, Joanne Farrugia, said they started placing holiday orders two months earlier than usual for 'certain items that we felt were essential for us to have at particular pricing.' They doubled their warehouse space to store the stockpile. But some shoppers are trying to get ahead of higher prices just like businesses are, he said. He's noticed customers snapping up items that will likely be popular during the holidays, like Jellycat plush toys and large stuffed unicorns and dogs. Any sales are welcome, but Smith and Farrugia are wary of having to restock at a higher cost. 'We're just trying to be as friendly as we can to the consumer and still have a product portfolio or profile that is gonna meet the needs of all of our various customers, which is getting more and more challenging by the day,' Smith said. Balsam Brands' Harman said he's had to resign himself to not having as robust a selection of ornaments and frosted trees to sell as in years' past. Soon, it will be too late to import meaningful additions to his range of products. 'Our purpose as a company is to create joy together, and we're going to do our very best to do that this year,' Harman said. 'We're just not going to have a bunch of the items that consumers want this year, and that's not a position we want to be in.' Associated Press
Gulf Today
2 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Trump, EU chief to meet today in push for trade deal
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump said Friday they would meet in Scotland this weekend in a decisive push to resolve a months-long transatlantic trade standoff. In a drive to slash his country's trade deficits, Trump has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariff hikes if they do not hammer out a pact with Washington by August 1. The EU − which is facing an across-the-board levy of 30-per cent − has been pushing hard for a deal with Trump's administration, while also planning retaliation should talks fall short. Von der Leyen first announced the meeting, writing on X: "Following a good call with POTUS, we have agreed to meet in Scotland on Sunday to discuss transatlantic trade relations, and how we can keep them strong." Arriving on UK soil late Friday, Trump confirmed he would meet the head of the European Commission, which has been negotiating with Washington on behalf of the 27-nation bloc. "I'll be meeting with the EU on Sunday, and we'll be working on a deal," he told reporters as he touched down at Prestwick Airport near Glasgow. "Ursula will be here − a highly respected woman. So we look forward to that," Trump said. "We'll see if we make a deal," added the president − who reiterated earlier comments saying the chance of a deal was "50-50", with sticking points remaining on "maybe 20 different things." "But we're meeting... with the European Union. And that would be, actually, the biggest deal of them all, if we make it," he said. The high-level meeting follows months of negotiations between top EU and US trade officials, and days of signals suggesting the sides were moving towards an agreement. According to multiple European diplomats, the agreement under consideration would involve a baseline 15-percent US levy on EU goods − the same level secured by Japan this week − and potential carve-outs for critical sectors. Von der Leyen's spokesperson Paula Pinho said "intensive negotiations" had been taking place at technical and political level in the run up to Sunday's meeting. "Leaders will now take stock and consider the scope for a balanced outcome that provides stability and predictability for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic," she said. - 'In Trump's hands' - Hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Trump reclaimed the White House, the EU is currently subject to a 25-percent levy on cars, 50 per cent on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10 per cent, which Washington threatens to hike to 30 per cent in a no-deal scenario. The EU wants to avoid sweeping tariffs inflicting further harm on the European economy − already suffering from sluggish growth − and damaging a trading relationship worth an annual 1.6 trillion euros ($1.9 trillion) in goods and services. EU member states gave the European Commission a mandate to pursue a deal to avoid hefty US tariffs, with retaliation held out as a last resort if talks fail. Seeking to keep up the pressure in the final stretch of talks, EU states on Thursday backed a package of retaliation on $109 billion (93 billion euros) of US goods including aircraft and cars − to kick in in stages from August 7 if there is no deal. Most states prefer a deal to no deal − even with undesirable levies of 15 per cent − but exemptions are key, with aircraft, steel, lumber, pharmaceutical products and agricultural goods under discussion, diplomats said. Concerning steel, diplomats say a compromise could allow a certain quota to enter the United States, with amounts beyond that taxed at 50 per cent. Since launching its tariffs campaign, Trump's administration has so far unveiled just five agreements, including with Britain, Japan and the Philippines. While EU hopes have been rising for a deal, the approaching August 1 deadline also comes with a sense of deja-vu: earlier this month, EU officials also believed they were on the cusp of a deal, before Trump hiked his tariff threat to 30-percent. "The final decision is in the hands of President Trump," an EU diplomat stressed this week. Agence France-Presse
Khaleej Times
3 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Trump job cuts: US space agency Nasa to lose nearly 4,000 employees, 20% of workforce
The US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) will lose about 3,900 employees under Donald Trump's sweeping effort to trim the federal workforce — at the same time as the president prioritises plans for crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. In an emailed statement, Nasa said around 3,000 employees took part in the second round of its deferred resignation programme, which closed late Friday. Combined with the 870 who joined the first round and regular staff departures, the agency's civil servant workforce is set to drop from more than 18,000 before Trump took office in January to roughly 14,000 — a more than 20 per cent decrease. Those leaving the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on the deferred resignation programme will be placed on administrative leave until an agreed departure date. An agency spokesperson said the figures could shift slightly in the coming weeks. "Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organization and work to ensure we remain fully capable of pursuing a Golden Era of exploration and innovation, including to the Moon and Mars," the agency said. Earlier this year, the Trump administration's proposed Nasa budget put a return to the Moon and a journey to Mars front and centre, slashing science and climate programs. The White House says it wants to focus on "beating China back to the Moon and putting the first human on Mars." China is aiming for its first crewed lunar landing by 2030, while the US program, called Artemis, has faced repeated delays. Nasa is still run by an acting administrator after the administration's initial pick to lead the agency, tech billionaire Jared Isaacman — endorsed by former Trump advisor Elon Musk — was ultimately rejected by the Republican president.
