As markets evolve and traditional investment strategies face new challenges, investors are more focused than ever on finding allocations that offer superior risk-adjusted returns, higher yields and greater portfolio resilience through lower volatility and drawdowns.
To meet these evolving demands, asset managers have been introducing retail-focused private market strategies designed to simplify access and broaden exposure for individual investors.
Historically, investing in private markets required participation in Limited Partner/General Partner (LP/GP) drawdown funds, which often came with high minimum investments (typically $1 million or more), strict accreditation requirements, unpredictable capital calls and lengthy lockup periods of up to ten years.
Over the past decade, asset managers have simplified access by launching strategies using evergreen semiliquid registered vehicles—structures that hold private assets while offering investors periodic liquidity, usually allowing redemptions of up to 5% per quarter.
As highlighted below, there are four main types of evergreen semiliquid vehicles. Each is structured as a non-traded closed-end fund with limited redemptions, typically on a quarterly basis. These funds provide access to private equity, venture capital, private credit, private real estate and private infrastructure investment strategies with notable differences with underlying fund leverage, investment restrictions and redemption conditions.
| Evergreen Semiliquid Registered Vehicles | ||||
| Investment Type | Accreditation Required? | Redemption Conditions | Max Fund Leverage Ratio (Debt:Equity) | Representative Fund |
| Interval Fund | Yes | Mandatory - Periodic repurchases typically quarterly basis |
0.5:1 Debt = 33.3% of total assets |
Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund Private Credit $29B Total Assets* |
| Tender Offer Fund | Yes | Discretionary - Board-determined timing/amount |
1:1 Debt = 50% of total assets |
Partners Group Private Equity Fund Private Equity $15B Total Assets** |
| Non-Traded Business Development Company (BDC) Fund | Yes | Discretionary - typically up to 5% of NAV quarterly |
2:1 Debt = 66.6% of total assets |
Blackstone Private Credit Fund Private Credit $73B Total Assets*** |
| Non-Traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Fund | Yes | Discretionary - often capped at 5% of NAV quarterly |
3:1 Debt = 75% of total assets |
Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Private Real Estate $113B Total Assets*** |
Source: Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), * as of 04/30/2025, ** as of 09/30/2024, *** as of 03/31/2025; latest information available
As noted below, evergreen semiliquid registered vehicles have experienced nearly a four-fold increase in assets under management (AUM) over the past decade, reaching $400B as of 12/31/2024.
Fund registration filings and launches have increased dramatically over the past year. As highlighted below, 38 funds have been launched in the past 16 months, with another 67 funds in registration pending effectiveness.
| Evergreen Semiliquid Fund Launches | |
| # Funds Launched Since 12/31/2023 | # Funds Pending Effectiveness |
| 38 | 67 |
Source: SEC, as of 04/30/2025
Morningstar Fund Coverage and Data Access
As an additional endorsement of the evergreen semiliquid structure, Morningstar introduced the Medalist Rating for semiliquid funds in May1 with the intent to bring greater transparency and due diligence to private markets as public and private markets converge. They plan to expand the forward-looking ratings methodology used for mutual funds and ETFs to a range of vehicles with limited liquidity and/or exposure to private market assets including interval funds, tender offer funds, non-traded REITs and non-traded BDCs, along with similar structures in Europe, UK and Australia. They also plan to incorporate evergreen semiliquid fund performance and portfolio data into the Morningstar data platform.
Public/Private Investment Models
Goldman Sachs, Capital Group/KKR, State Street/Apollo and Partners Group/BlackRock, among others, have announced investment models using blends of ETFs, mutual funds and evergreen semiliquid funds with targeted investment outcomes and provisions for investor risk tolerance and liquidity needs.
Notable Momentum
Recent announcements and events which may drive additional demand include:
- Larry Fink, BlackRock Chairman and CEO, in his annual shareholder letter this past March,2 advocated a new standard 50/30/20 portfolio—with 50% stocks, 30% bonds and 20% private markets—as an alternative to the traditional 60/40 portfolio. His rationale echoes broader sentiments that many of the best investment opportunities are no longer available in public markets and that investors would benefit from a material allocation to private markets. BlackRock estimates that private markets allocations average only 1%-2% across US households.
- The SEC is evaluating the definition of “accredited investor,” with potential for lower minimums (both net worth and investment levels) for private markets access.3 This change could dramatically increase the potential investor base for private markets and fuel additional growth in private market AUMs.
Projected Growth
Factoring in these dynamics, private markets data provider PitchBook is forecasting 20%+ AUM growth per year over the next five years, resulting in more than doubling of assets in evergreen semiliquid vehicles. Each of the major structures is projected to grow significantly, reaching an aggregate $1.0T AUM by 2029.
Conclusion
A significant transformation is underway across the investment landscape as private markets become increasingly accessible to a broader range of investors. The rapid growth in strategies and AUM indicate that retail investors are fueling a virtuous cycle: rising demand encourages additional supply and innovation, which in turn lowers barriers and costs, which further stimulates investor interest and asset growth.
Evergreen semiliquid vehicles appear to be at the heart of this transformation, offering a compelling combination of simplicity, access, flexibility and diversification previously unavailable to most individual investors. As data trends suggest, they are poised to become the preferred access vehicle to private markets for a meaningful subset of the investing public.
We anticipate that ongoing innovation, regulatory changes and enhanced transparency will potentially accelerate the momentum behind private market access and continue the fundamental portfolio construction changes already underway. Evergreen semiliquid fund vehicles appear to be one of the significant catalysts for this shift, opening the doors to private markets for a broader and more diverse group of investors.
Important Disclosures & Definitions
1 Morningstar, Inc. (May 6, 2025). Morningstar Introduces Medalist Rating for Semiliquid Funds, Advancing Transparency in Private Markets [Press release].
2 Fink, L. (2025). Larry Fink’s 2025 Annual Chairman’s Letter to Investors. BlackRock.
3 Rifilato, T. (May 20, 2025). SEC to Reconsider Closed-End Fund Retail Restrictions. FundFire.
AAI000947 05/27/2026
