The democratisation of private markets is reshaping the wealth management landscape — opening an asset class once reserved for ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), with entry tickets often exceeding €1m, to a far broader investor base.
Tanguy Kamp, head of investment management at CA-Indosuez Wealth Management, noted that this landscape has shifted dramatically over the last decade. Access is now available to a much broader client base through digital platforms and specialised vehicles that allow entry with commitments as low as €50,000. Indosuez uses structures such as European long-term investment funds (Eltifs) and “evergreen” funds—semi-liquid vehicles offering limited liquidity.
It is not the Saint Graal for companies to be listed on a stock exchange.
Indosuez is currently expanding this reach by launching a private credit Eltif designed with even lower entry requirements to capture well-informed retail investors.
Structural shift in the public-private markets space
The broader market is currently witnessing a significant structural shift as the public equity universe shrinks. “It is not the Saint Graal for companies to be listed on a stock exchange,” said Kamp. Many companies, such as the confectionery giant Ferrero, choose to remain private to avoid the heavy regulatory burdens, costs, and quarterly scrutiny associated with being listed on a public exchange.
Additionally, massive share buybacks by public corporations — such as Apple — have significantly reduced the free float and overall supply of public equities, while boosting valuations. The result is a shrinking investable public universe and a growing concentration of value creation in private hands.
Risk-taking entrepreneurs turn to private assets
Indosuez’s largest clients are often entrepreneurs. “They are generally risk takers,” said Kamp. These UHNWIs hold portfolios in which private assets increasingly complement public holdings (a share much higher in the US than in Europe), which are generally the starting point for the relationship. A client with €3m, for example, may allocate €1m to private markets to enhance long-term returns, diversify the portfolio and reduce exposure to daily public market volatility.
Much of this activity is channelled through Indosuez’s Tiera Capital platform, a fund-of-funds structure that has used reserved alternative investment funds (Raifs) for over 25 years to provide diversified private equity solutions. In terms of performance, Indosuez claimed an internal track record, with private market investments generating annual returns of 12.5% to 13% on “capital called” (i.e. portion of the committed capital by the investor that has been deployed by the fund).
While private equity is often marketed as being decorrelated from public markets, Kamp remarked that a long-term correlation exists, “often above 0.5,” because private valuations ultimately reference comparable public market multiples. However, the correlation is much smaller in the short term given the delayed reported valuations.
Banks may be back
In the private debt space, which expanded as a form of “shadow banking” after traditional lenders retreated following the 2008 financial crisis, new challenges are emerging. Potential US deregulation under a Trump administration might bring traditional banks back into competition for corporate lending, which could squeeze margins for private debt providers.
In Europe, however, where regulation remains strict and interest rates are lower, private debt continues to offer attractive fixed income yields near 8%.
Balancing primaries and secondaries
In a typical discretionary private market portfolio, the bank targets a diversified allocation of roughly 60% to 70% in primary funds (with US, European and Asian exposure), 20% in secondaries and 10% in co-investments. However, a client can also adopt a pure-play strategy within a Raif—one focused solely on secondaries, for example.
Following recent private equity exit challenges—driven by muted valuations and, in some cases, weaker internal rates of return (IRR)—Indosuez often prioritises secondaries and co-investments to “optimise the client experience and return profiles,” Kamp said. The bank’s upcoming “Secondary Opportunities IX” fund represents the ninth iteration of a strategy that acquires existing stakes in various funds from other investors (LP-led) or participates in manager-led restructurings (GP-led).
The primary allure of the secondaries market is the ability to acquire assets at a discount to their net asset value (NAV). It also allows investors to enter portfolios that are already generating cash flows and effectively bypass the “J-curve phase” (i.e., the early stage of a fund where returns are typically negative before improving). “This option often improves the IRR for the client,” he noted.
Co-investments, meanwhile, are increasingly favoured because they allow clients to invest directly alongside a lead GP in specific companies, often resulting in lower fee structures and offering the benefit of “dual expertise” from both the lead manager and the bank’s internal specialists.
Investors with €10m or more can also establish a dedicated fund structure. This enables direct investments in private market funds (such as KKR or Blackstone), bypassing the Tiera platform. Assets are held with a custodian bank and managed by the manco, Crédit Agricole Investment Funds Solution (CAIFS).
Enhancing performance from primary funds
To improve the efficiency of primary funds, Indosuez tackles an inherent challenge: “cash drag,” where a client’s capital remains unproductive while waiting to be “called” by a fund manager. The solution is Lombard lending, or pledging: the client invests their full capital in liquid public markets and opens a credit line—typically with a loan-to-value ratio of between 65% and 85%—to fund private equity commitments as they arise.
This structure ensures that the client’s total wealth is productive from day one, earning returns in public markets while simultaneously building long-term exposure to private equity without the need for large idle cash reserves.
A gateway with exit gates
Despite these opportunities, investing in private markets remains complex and involves several inherent constraints. “Semi-liquid” funds often employ “gates” that limit redemptions to 10% of a fund’s NAV during periods of stress—meaning that “an investor may have to wait six to 15 months to fully exit a position,” explained Kamp.
Regulatory constraints under Mifid II also require clients to be “well-informed” and to maintain a “balanced” or “dynamic” risk profile; those with defensive profiles are generally excluded from such structures.
Ultimately, Kamp underlined that the most critical factor in private equity success is manager selection, as the dispersion between top-tier and bottom-tier performers is vast.
Access to top-tier private equity managers is akin to acquiring rare wine from Romanée-Conti: it requires decades of relationship-building and consistent participation across vintages. Similarly, the most oversubscribed and successful private equity funds—such as Sequoia—are closed to those who have not consistently supported the manager’s previous “vintages” over many years. Access to top-tier performers is a privilege earned through long-standing institutional relationships and a proven track record.
“Protecting clients against themselves”
Beyond pure financial metrics, Kamp stresses that private assets can provide a “psychological shield” for investors because “you are committed over the long haul.” Valued quarterly rather than daily, these assets help protect clients from the urge to “panic sell” during short-term market turbulence, such as the volatility seen during the covid pandemic or the 2022 downturn.
A modified version of this article was written for the Wealth Management and Private Banking supplement to the March 2026 issue of Paperjam magazine, published on 24 February. The content is produced exclusively for the magazine. It is published on the site to contribute to the full Paperjam archive. Click on this link to subscribe to the magazine.
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