Private Equity for the Rest of Us

Oct 28, 2017 '

Private Equity for the Rest of Us

A handful of online platforms aggregate pools from less-affluent investors. But is this democratization of investing or a toppy market?

Democracy: Mercury iFunds’ online platform allows advisors to aggregate smaller money pools from less-affluent clients. William Waitzman for Barron’s

The ability to invest in alternative-asset funds like private equity used to be the preserve of sovereign-wealth and pension funds, and high-net-worth individuals. No longer. The “democratization” of PE investing seems to be accelerating.

PE funds are looking down-market to expand capital and fee income by attracting money from less-affluent individual investors. A handful of online alternative-asset investing platforms have sprung up to fill that need and pitch PE investments to folks who previously didn’t have the scratch—typically $5 million and up—to buy in. In general, alternative-asset returns have outperformed the stock market over the past decade.

Mercury iFunds rolled out an online platform last August that allows qualified registered investment advisors, or RIAs, to aggregate smaller pools of money—as little as $100,000—from clients who individually don’t qualify to buy into alternative investments, such as private equity, hedge, or infrastructure funds, among 18 other fund sectors. Fees paid to Mercury might come from the fund manager or the investor, depending on the minimum investment required by the fund.

Mercury follows the iCapital Network platform, which began in late 2014, and offers qualifying RIAs and individual investors access to existing and customized alternative-equity investments that iCapital manages. It has about $5 billion in assets under management.

Of course, just like traditional PE investing, doing it online isn’t very liquid. At best, withdrawals from funds can be measured in months, not minutes like the public markets. Barron’s is all for “democratization,” but the wag in us wonders whether this is just a sign of a toppy market.

—Vito J. Racanelli

READ FULL ARTICLE

Apr 19, 2023

Gates-backed MetaVC Partners raises $62m for debut fund

MetaVC Partners, which is backed by Bill Gates, has closed on $62 million for its debut fund to invest in start-ups working with new advanced materials. Besides Gates Frontier, Microsoft…

Mar 02, 2023

Mercury hires Glendower exec to lead on secondaries

Mercury Capital Advisors has hired an executive from Glendower Capital as partner to lead its secondaries advisory effort. London-based Devrup Banerjee joined Mercury on 1 February, according to a statement…

Nov 02, 2022

eWTP Arabia spotlights Arab-Asian collaboration at SuperReturn Middle East

Dubai, UAE: eWTP Arabia Capital, a leading Saudi Arabia and China based growth stage venture fund, is co-sponsor of SuperReturn Middle East, the leading private equity event serving the Middle East…

Jul 12, 2022

Mercury adds US secondaries advisory exec

The adviser and placement agent sees a growing opportunity in the US lower middle market, particularly in preferred equity. Mercury Capital Advisors has brought a new hire over from the…

Jul 05, 2022

Springwater Capital partners with Morningside Capital Management and LSV Advisors in a structured solution of a European portfolio of alternative assets.

Springwater, a leading pan-European special situations investment firm, received a preferred equity investment in a portfolio of European private equity assets with a value of over €100 million. Fresh capital raised will…

Feb 17, 2022

Infrastructure Managers Rake in $124B for
New Fundraising Record

Money poured into infrastructure funds at a record pace last year, powered by factors such as a post-pandemic rebound, a range of potential risk and return options and a wide…

Feb 15, 2022

Mercury Capital Advisors Boosts its US Origination and Distribution Capabilities

Mercury Capital Advisors announced today that it has added James Howe and Michael Dunham as Partners to further enhance its origination and distribution capabilities. Howe and Dunham are based out…

Dec 09, 2021

Mercury Capital Advisors Adds Masashi Hirose and Eugene Park to Growing Team

Mercury Capital Advisors announced today that it has added Masashi Hirose as Partner and Eugene Park as Principal to boost distribution and project management efforts for the firm, respectively. Hirose…

Sep 01, 2021

Gaw Capital Partners Takes Top Spot in APAC Fund Manager Ranking by PERE

September 1, 2021, Hong Kong – Gaw Capital Partners ranked first in PERE’s APAC Fund Manager Guide, a ranking based on capital raised over a five-year period, which shows the top 50 fund managers…

Jul 28, 2021

Mercury Capital Advisors Appoints Michael Ricciardi as Chairman Emeritus

Mercury Capital Advisors (“Mercury”), among the world’s elite global private fund placement and advisory firms, today announced that it has appointed Michael Ricciardi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of the…

Jul 21, 2021

Mercury Capital Advisors Announces Four Senior Hires for Distribution Team

Mercury Capital Advisors today announced that it has added four senior professionals to amplify distribution efforts for the firm. Matthew Haimes, based in London, Jill Cohen and Jennifer Tunney, both…

Jul 12, 2021

10 Biggest Trends Shaping the Next 3 Decades, According to Big Investors

Institutional investors and family offices in a recent survey cite digitization, aging population and climate change as the most important trends that will shape the global economic landscape in the…

Jun 15, 2021

Investcorp partners with 17Capital to structure portfolio of alternative assets

17Capital, the global go-to source of strategic financing for investors in private equity, and Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products, are collaborating to structure a…

Jun 03, 2020

Opportunity-Zone Funds Gaining Momentum

After a slow start, managers of opportunity-zone funds have been raising capital at an accelerated rate, according to Real Estate Alert’s second-annual review of the sector. Twenty-two sponsors working independently…

Apr 22, 2020

Oaktree Leads Rush of New Distressed Funds Seeking $30B

A wave of distressed debt and special situations funds has hit the market in recent weeks in response to the Covid-19 pandemic downturn, jumpstarting a segment that had dwindled to…

Apr 08, 2020

Crisis Sidetracks Fund Shops’ Equity Raises

The coronavirus chaos is taking its toll on fund managers’ capital campaigns. Operators across the country are postponing initial and final closes, or discuss­ing doing so, as investors focus on…

Mar 20, 2020

PE giants eyeing 2 opportunities amidst COVID

We talked to 14 private-equity insiders about how they’re planning to play the coronavirus turmoil. They identified 2 huge opportunities. Market chaos is creating crises and opportunities. Private-equity firms are…

Mar 20, 2020

LPs Slow Pledges to Debt Vehicles

Demand for high-yield-debt funds appears to have softened in the past year. The amount of equity raised by active closed-end vehicles is down for the first time since 2013, according…

Mar 18, 2020

Investors Tap the Brakes on Fund Commitments

After several years of explosive growth, the market for high-yield real estate funds is slowing. The total amount of equity managed in closed-end funds fell for the first time since…

Jan 15, 2020

Bain, TPG Go Long in Major Push into Public Equities

Bain Capital and TPG have rolled out new vehicles focused on long-hold public equities – aiming for billions of dollars in new capital and further blurring the lines between the…

×

By clicking on this link you will leave the Mercury Capital Advisors, LLC (“Mercury”) website and be taken to a website owned and operated by third parties. These links are provided for your information and convenience only and are not an endorsement by Mercury or the Mercury iFunds™ platform. Mercury has no control over the contents of any linked website and is not responsible for these websites or their content or availability. Mercury therefore makes no warranties or representations, express or implied about such linked websites, the third parties they are owned and operated by, the information contained on them or the suitability or quality of any of their products or services.

Accept