For most of its history, private equity was built for institutions – pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds. Individual investors were limited to the ultra-wealthy who could write large checks, tie up capital for a decade, and navigate the nuances of limited partnership structures. In recent years, technologies have developed allowing retail investors to gain exposure. While these structures differ in terms of liquidity, complexity, and degree of separation, they have expanded access to an asset class whose benefits are well recognized.

‘40 Act Funds are private funds offered under exemptions to the Investment Company Act of 1940. These vehicles are designed to work within a regulatory framework familiar to retail investors while still investing in illiquid assets such as PE. Many of these vehicles are structured as interval funds or tender offer funds. Rather than offering daily liquidity like a mutual fund, they provide periodic, often quarterly opportunities for investors to redeem shares. They also offer lower minimums than traditional private equity funds and simplified Form 1099 tax reporting in place of the complex Schedule K-1s. Their evergreen structure eliminates capital calls entirely; investors deploy capital upfront and participate in compounding from day one.