UK private markets fund managers are forecasting strong growth in inflows from individual investors as they increasingly target the sector, new research from Wealth Club, the UK’s leading non-advised investment service for high-net-worth individuals, shows.
Its study with fund managers across the private equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure sectors found half (49%) are already targeting retail and HNW investors through semi-liquid or evergreen funds.
A further 50% are planning to do so with nearly half (42%) of them intending to launch funds within the next year and a further 40% expecting to launch within a year to three years. Just 1% of the private markets fund managers questioned do not intend to target retail and HNW investors.
Increased activity in the retail and HNW sector is expected to boost inflows with managers estimating on average 14% of inflows will come from retail and HNW investors within five years.
Currently managers estimate that on average 9.5% of inflows come from the retail and HNW sector.
Expansion in the sector should significantly increase the range of private market opportunities available to sophisticated and high-net-worth investors.
Nearly six out of 10 (59%) expect minimum investments for their semi-liquid funds to be below £50,000, including one in five (20%) who expect minimums between £10,000 and £20,000.
However more than one in 10 (11%) say minimum investments will be more than £250,000.
All private market fund sectors will benefit from expansion with infrastructure funds marginally ahead. Around 81% questioned expect increased inflows into infrastructure over the next five years compared with 78% for private credit and 77% for private equity.
Wealth Club, which launched its private funds supermarket in November 2024, is growing rapidly along with the expansion in retail and HNW interest in private markets more than doubling its range of funds and earlier this year opening the first Private Markets SIPP – which marks a significant inflection point in the democratisation of alternative investments in the UK.
The expansion of the platform is underpinned by a surge in institutional interest in the sophisticated individual investor channel. Currently, 22 funds from 18 premier private markets fund managers are available on the Wealth Club platform with more to go live shortly.
Alex Davies, Founder and CEO of Wealth Club, said: “Private market fund managers are making it clear that sophisticated and high-net-worth investors will become an increasingly important source of capital over the next five years. More managers are launching semi-liquid funds, inflows from this market are expected to grow strongly and minimum investment levels are continuing to fall.
“For most individual investors, private markets have historically been largely out of reach.
While investment trusts and other specialist vehicles have provided some access, many of the world’s leading private equity, private credit and infrastructure managers were simply unavailable, while traditional private market funds often required very large minimum commitments and complex capital call structures.
“Semi-liquid funds are changing that. They are opening up access to a much broader range of managers and strategies and removing many of the practical barriers that have held investors back in the past.
They also remove the discount and premium volatility associated with listed investment trusts, allowing investors to focus on the performance of the underlying assets.
“The direction of travel is clear. Fund managers increasingly recognise the sophisticated investor market as strategically important and are launching products designed to meet that demand. We believe that will significantly broaden access to private markets over the coming years.”
The table below shows how UK private markets fund managers expect retail inflows into different sectors to develop over the next five years with all seeing strong growth.
Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. You may not get back the amount originally invested, and tax rules can change over time. The writer’s views are their own and do not constitute financial advice.
This information should not be relied upon by retail clients or investment professionals. Reference to any particular investment does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell the investment.
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