Travers Smith's Alternative Insights: Retailisation

The many alternative fund managers looking at high net worth (HNW) investors as a source of capital have had mixed news over the last year.  Policymakers are grappling with competing priorities: they want to facilitate the flow of capital to long term investments, but they also want to protect investors who may not be able to bear the risks and illiquidity inherent in those investments.  So, while the market continues to tap wealth management firms and private banks, regulators are both helping and hindering those efforts. 

There is still no market consensus on the best structure to use to address the HNW market.  The three main candidates are: feeders into institutional funds, evergreen semi-liquid funds, and the (soon to be improved) European Long Term Investment Fund (or ELTIF).