FS Investments Announces Rebrand to ‘Future Standard’ and Greater Focus on Private Markets
FS Investments – an $86 billion global alternative asset manager and platform for private equity, credit, and real estate investments – has announced its renaming to Future Standard. With the rebrand, Future Standard will operate under a unified identity following its combination with Portfolio Advisors, its global private asset manager specializing in the middle market.
“Future Standard reflects what has always been at our core – a relentless drive to serve clients by uncovering differentiated opportunities that drive performance,” said Michael Forman, chief executive officer. “Our expertise and access enable us to deliver the attractive returns our clients seek by uncovering opportunities others overlook.”
With expertise in the U.S. middle market, Future Standard is focused on a segment that is essential to economic growth but the company said remains underrepresented in many investor portfolios. The middle market includes more than 200,000 companies generating between $10 million and $1 billion in annual revenue. As 99% of these companies are privately held, it makes access difficult without the right relationships and structure.
According to the company, the new brand leverages its legacy of innovation and significant players, including having the largest non-traded credit real estate investment trust with FS Credit REIT, which had $8.87 billion assets as of Jan. 31, 2025.
Its business development company, FS Specialty Lending Fund, formerly known as FS Energy and Power Fund – continues to move forward with its goal to list on a national securities exchange later this quarter or early Q4 2025.
Like FS Investments, the firm’s leadership said Future Standard’s investment approach combines deep domain expertise with thoughtful product design, providing clients with access to opportunities across liquidity profiles and market cycles.
“While much is changing, the core of who we are and where we operate remains the same. With specialized teams across asset classes and a strong distribution infrastructure, we are focused on investor outcomes and leading the way in private markets access and performance,” added Forman.
With the rebrand, Future Standard also released its latest Private Markets Outlook, which examines how policy uncertainty and macroeconomic risks are impacting dealmaking. Beneath this cyclical uncertainty, the report identifies a more significant shift: a new investment imperative is emerging in private markets. Many allocators are flocking to large, brand-name managers – but as the report underscores, capturing real value in this next market phase will require a different approach.
“Nearly half of all private capital raised globally this year has flowed into mega-funds, intensifying the challenge of generating attractive returns. We believe the next cycle of alpha will be led by operators who understand how to drive real value – through pricing power, margin expansion, and executional excellence,” said Mike Kelly, chief investment officer. “At a time when policy and geopolitical uncertainty persist, we believe the most compelling opportunities for investors lie in the U.S. middle market, where operational rigor, sector specialization, and manager skill drive differentiated returns.”
Future Standard’s analysis shows that in private equity, large-cap managers have underperformed their smaller peers in both median and top-end returns. In both private credit and real estate, smaller funds show greater upside. Meanwhile, the company said higher interest rates are reshaping the investment terrain, compressing equity returns and shifting value toward lenders.
Future Standard is a global alternative asset manager serving institutional and private wealth clients, investing across private equity, credit and real estate.
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