What is listed private capital?

Our four page guide explains what listed private capital is and how it democratises access to these investment opportunities by making private capital publicly available to smaller investors.

Private capital can feel remote and hard to access for smaller investors, because most of the capital is put into funds (known as “limited partnership funds”) by large institutions – pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds or large private foundations – in very large minimum stakes. The fund investments are then managed by the private capital firm (known as a “general partner”) and invested by them in private companies. This capital tends to be locked up in the funds for the long term, typically around five years, reflecting the time horizon of the transformation taking place in the underlying companies in the fund. Capital is released at planned points of exit, meaning liquidity is limited. Of course, institutions are often investing on behalf of individuals one way or another (for example as pension funds or life insurance products), but smaller investors rightly want to be able to access these interesting investment opportunities direct as well. Listed private capital meets this need. Small investors can invest as much or as little as they like by simply buying shares on the stock market.