The day at a glanceFriday, September 25, 2026Sep 25, 2026 · 5 sections · 3 min read

Mood · Cautious

+25

Sentiment, −100 to +100

Goldman PE Fundraising

$11.7B

West Street Capital Partners IX

$9.6B

GS 3-Year Return

203.5%

Key driverPrivate equity fundraising strength and payment network innovation offset bond yield pressure on valuations

Daily briefFinancials· Money365.Market AI · Sep 25, 2026

Goldman Raises $11.7B for PE; Payments Lead Financials

Goldman Sachs closes flagship buyout fund; Visa and Mastercard advance on AI-agent payment infrastructure developments.

Banks & Capital Markets

Neutral

JPM Paraguay Forestry Investment

$200M

GSJPMBACC

Goldman Sachs (GS) has raised $11.7 billion for private equity deployment, with $9.6 billion directed to West Street Capital Partners IX, the firm's ninth flagship buyout strategy, and $1.6 billion raised for West Street Asia Equity Partners I and related co-investment vehicles. The fundraising comes as the stock has delivered a 203.5% return over three years, prompting investor scrutiny of whether underlying return on capital justifies the valuation re-rating. Goldman Sachs also initiated coverage on United Therapeutics with a Sell rating.

JPMorgan (JPM) highlighted Genius Sports' diversified growth and improving profitability, citing nearly 40% upside potential with prediction markets optionality as a key factor. The bank also sent a positive message to Meta stock investors regarding the historic run potential for its newest AI application. Additionally, JPMorgan Asset Management announced a $200 million investment to develop a large-scale sustainable forestry platform in Paraguay through its Natural Capital division.

Bank of America (BAC) doubled down on Micron stock ahead of the chipmaker's earnings report, which could redefine its performance for the year.

Citigroup (C) upgraded Kerry Group to buy, citing improving returns across European ingredients companies, and maintained a Buy rating on a pharmaceutical company after cutting its price target to $33 from $40 following a clinical trial update.

Asset Management

Neutral

BLK 3-Year Return

77.9%

Securitize Stock Jump

15%+15%

BLK

BlackRock (BLK) has delivered a 77.9% share price gain over the past three years, intensifying investor focus on whether the valuation is supported by returns the asset manager earns on deployed capital across its platform. The firm appeared in news regarding broader market conditions as bond yields pushed higher and put pressure on stocks. Separately, Securitize stock surged 15% after the SEC's Innovation Exemption cleared a legal pathway for tokenized stock trading venues, a development relevant to BlackRock's digital asset initiatives.

Payments & Networks

Bullish

VMAAXP

Visa (V) shares rose as payment networks move to standardize AI-agent identity verification, a development that could protect Visa's role even when software rather than consumers initiates transactions. Common agent verification frameworks are being developed to address authentication challenges in automated commerce.

Mastercard (MA) gained as banks challenge agentic-commerce guardrails, with AI shopping transactions raising questions about unclear authorization and liability that could make every automated checkout more expensive. The payment network is navigating how to balance innovation with risk management as software-generated transactions proliferate.

An analysis comparing Visa (V) and American Express (AXP) highlighted fundamental business model differences, noting that Visa operates a toll-road model while American Express both lends its own capital and operates a toll road, a distinction that explains most of their valuation differences.

Insurance Sector

Neutral

Treasury Yield Level

~5%

MET

Bond-heavy US life and property-casualty insurers are drawing renewed attention as 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields hover around two-decade highs near 5%. When Treasury rates jump, long-term bond portfolios and equity valuations both experience material impacts. Three large insurers with significant bond exposure are being closely monitored for how this rate environment affects their portfolio positioning.

MetLife (MET) was highlighted among insurers whose bond portfolios have become more significant to overall performance at current yield levels.

Market Conditions

Neutral

Tech Hyperscaler AI Spending

$1T/year

Expected FCF Decline

$440B

US stock futures showed limited movement as investors assessed macroeconomic and geopolitical crosscurrents that have pushed up oil prices and bond yields in recent days. The bond sell-off has maintained pressure on equity valuations across the financial sector.

Morgan Stanley (MS) analysis noted that tech hyperscalers are spending approximately $1 trillion annually to build artificial-intelligence infrastructure, with annual free cash flow expected to decline by $440 billion, though the firm characterized this cash burn differently than conventional concerns might suggest.

Important Disclaimer — Not Investment Advice

Disclaimer: This article is provided by Money365.Market for general information and educational purposes only. It is not financial advice, a personal recommendation, or an inducement to buy, sell, or invest in any security or product. Capital is at risk and the value of investments can go down as well as up; past performance does not indicate future results. You should seek independent advice from an FCA-authorised adviser before making any financial decision.

Read the full disclaimer — 8 further points, including total-loss risk, our regulatory status and conflicts of interest

Nothing here is an offer or a solicitation to buy or sell anything, and reading it creates no advisory or fiduciary relationship between you and Money365.Market. Any decision you take is your own.

You can lose money — including all of it. Individual companies can and do fail, and some of the assets discussed can fall to zero. Only commit money you can afford to lose, and never borrow to invest on the strength of anything you read here.
Forecasts are opinion, not fact. Any valuation model, scenario, fair-value range, estimate or other forward-looking statement is illustrative, rests on assumptions that may prove wrong, and is never a price target, a forecast of actual outcomes, or a promise of any return.
Published at a point in time. Figures were believed accurate on the publication or last-updated date shown above and are not maintained afterwards; we are under no obligation to update them. Market and company data comes from third-party sources and is provided without warranty of accuracy, completeness or timeliness.
Automated content. This brief was compiled by an automated pipeline from validated news and market-data sources and passed through editorial and compliance checks. Automated content can still contain errors — verify anything you intend to rely on.
We are not regulated. Money365.Market is not authorised or regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, is not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or FINRA as an investment adviser or broker-dealer, and is not a tax adviser. We hold no licence to give personal financial advice and do not do so.
Interests and independence. Money365.Market is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any company, fund, exchange or platform mentioned, and is not paid to feature them. The author may hold positions in securities or assets discussed. The site earns revenue from advertising, subscriptions and, where labelled, affiliate links; this does not influence what we publish.
Your jurisdiction matters. Tax treatment, contribution limits, product availability and investor protections differ by country and can change. Speak to a qualified tax professional for tax matters, and to a locally licensed adviser if you are outside the UK.

Full terms: Disclaimer · Terms of Service · Privacy Policy