Private investing is becoming more accessible, but greater access requires more than lower investment minimums. Fund managers are rethinking everything from fund structures and reporting to digital onboarding and investor education to make private markets easier to navigate without sacrificing diligence or transparency.
Below, Forbes Finance Council members each share the strategies they believe are reshaping private investing for accredited and high-net-worth investors (HNWIs).
1. Engineer Real Liquidity Into Private Investments
Fund managers are working hard to open up private markets to a broader investor base. The winners are not just repackaging illiquid assets in liquid clothing; they are engineering real liquidity into the portfolio itself so the wrapper can deliver on its promises without losing the long-duration return profile that makes private markets worth owning in the first place. – Wesley Carpenter, Stormfield Capital
2. Expand Access Through Innovative Fund Structures
Fund managers are expanding access to private investments through lower minimums, interval and evergreen funds, feeder structures and digital platforms for HNWIs and accredited investors. They also use fintech, tokenization and streamlined compliance to improve liquidity, accessibility, transparency and broader investor participation. – Andre Pennington, Pennington Law
3. Build Confidence Through Greater Transparency
Fund managers are doing a better job of communicating the private equity risk or reward, objectives and investments. A wider group of investors are now able to better understand what they are buying. Managers are communicating more often, being less secretive, providing transparency and providing more clarity about distributions and redemptions. – Aviva Pinto, Wealthspire Advisors
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4. Reward Investors Who Bring Strategic Value
For decades, private markets were defined by who you knew, not what you brought to the table. That era is ending. Investors who bring strategic value beyond capital are gaining access to co-investment opportunities once reserved for exclusive networks. Smart money is no longer just writing checks. It is earning a seat at the table. – Anis Uzzaman, Pegasus Tech Ventures
5. Lower Barriers Through Technology And AI
Three things changed: 1. Access. Feeder funds and tokenized special purpose vehicles cut minimums by an order of magnitude, so HNWIs can enter deals that used to require institutional tickets; 2. Reporting. Modern fund platforms give investors near real-time visibility into holdings, fees and performance—not just yearly reports; 3. Diligence. AI-assisted deal screening lets smaller managers match the research quality of megafunds. – Alexey Posternak, Intema.ai
6. Expand Access With Evergreen Investment Vehicles
Non-traded real estate investment trusts, non-traded business development companies and other evergreen funds provide access to investments that historically have involved long lockups, tax complexity and high minimums. Although these vehicles are characterized as being semi-liquid, they are long-term investments that are less illiquid than traditional “drawdown” funds but are still far less liquid than mutual funds and ETFs. – Daniel Kern, Nixon Peabody Trust Co.
7. Democratize Private Markets Through Tokenization
Fund managers are reducing friction in private markets through lower minimums and digital platforms, but the real change is structural. Modern infrastructure and tokenization are turning illiquid, exclusive assets into liquid, fractional instruments. This isn’t about novelty; it’s about democratizing capital and bringing institutional-quality opportunities to a broader investor base. – Bill Capuzzi, Apex Fintech Solutions
8. Scale Private Market Access Through Digital Platforms
Fund managers are partnering with white-label private markets’ platforms that provide branded digital infrastructure: research, click-of-a-mouse order placement capability, automated settlement solutions and client portals—enabling them to add private investments to their product shelves at scale for their clients. So wealth managers can offer private market exposure without needing to build the highly specialized infrastructure themselves. – Stephen Richards Evans, Red Lions Capital
9. Broaden Access While Maintaining Institutional Standards
Fund managers are democratizing private markets. They do this by lowering minimums through interval funds and feeder structures, leveraging technology for streamlined onboarding and utilizing Regulation D and Regulation A+ exemptions. This expands access to accredited and HNWIs while maintaining institutional-grade diligence. – Jacob D. Frankel, Beyond Alpha Ventures L.L.C.
10. Close The Information Gap Through Transparency
The barrier to private investments has never been a lack of interest; it was an information gap favoring Wall Street. Today, fund managers can leverage Rule 506(c) and digital platforms to educate investors. Firms like LandFund use this regulatory shift to share track records online, bringing radical transparency to mass-affluent investors and turning “democratization” of investment opportunities into reality. – Chris Morris, LandFund Partners
11. Improve Access Through Flexible Fund Structures
Fund managers are increasingly structuring products with lower minimums and more flexible access points, often using digital platforms to streamline onboarding. They are also improving transparency through better reporting and simplified communication of risks and returns. Another shift is the creation of semi-liquid or interval funds that balance accessibility with long-term private assets. – ATM Rahat Mohammad, SPONSOR (SCOP)
12. Scale Private Investments Without Sacrificing Quality
They’re productizing access. Fund managers are breaking large deals into structured vehicles with lower minimums, clearer reporting and digital onboarding. Feeder funds, tokenization and platform distribution are expanding reach. The shift is from exclusivity to scalability—without losing control over governance and investor quality. – Faustino Júnior, FG Investimentos
13. Increase Access Through Evergreen And Interval Funds
Fund managers are developing new investment vehicles for private markets. Evergreen or interval funds have been developed to allow access to private investments to a wider group of investors. These are open-ended funds that keep investing, distributing and accepting new investors over time. This allows for 1099 tax reporting, quarterly purchases, monthly redemptions and lower minimums. – Jeff Hansen, Capstone Financial Advisors
14. Expand Access Without Compromising Transparency
Fund managers are lowering the friction without pretending the risk disappeared. Evergreen funds, interval funds, feeder vehicles and digital onboarding have made private markets easier to access for HNWI and accredited investors. The better managers are also investing more in education, liquidity design and transparency. Access is expanding, but suitability and transparency still matter. – Robert Reeder, Casa Projects
15. Make Private Markets More Accessible Through Technology
Fund managers are expanding access to private investments through technology, fractional ownership and more flexible fund structures. They’re also prioritizing transparency and investor education to help non-institutional investors better understand private markets. The industry is shifting from an exclusive, relationship-driven model to a more scalable and accessible investment ecosystem. – Alexander Ronzino, Rework Capital LLC
16. Combine Technology And Transparency To Expand Access
Fund managers are using digital platforms, evergreen funds and feeder structures to open private investments to HNWIs and accredited investors. Lower minimums, tender offers or 40-Act funds and partnerships provide liquidity and access once limited to institutions. Eqvista’s real-time valuation enables transparent pricing, while regulatory shifts support wider participation. – Tomas Milar, Eqvista Inc.
17. Simplify Funding For Qualified Borrowers
They are making it easier to obtain funding by not requiring the same information as banks and traditional lending institutions. You do have to have experience within the industry and a source of repayment which will allow you to obtain money from fund managers for your business or project. – Elijah McCoy, McCoy Brokerage Service, Inc.
18. Deliver Greater Portfolio Transparency
Transparency is the key. Pooled structures where investors can’t see what they own will continue to lose ground. People with real capital want to know exactly what’s in their portfolio and why. Managers delivering institutional quality with SMA-level visibility are the ones winning right now. – Ahijah Ireland, Green Zone Capital
19. Expand Access Through Better Investor Understanding
The innovation is not in new assets. It is in new access models. Leading managers are using evergreen structures, lower minimums and standardized reporting to scale private market allocations. The real shift is that investor understanding, not simply net worth, increasingly determines access. – Elie Nour, Nour Private Wealth
20. Balance Greater Access With Investment Reality
Packaging and distribution have changed more than the assets. Managers use evergreen and semi-liquid vehicles, feeder funds and lower minimums, with digital onboarding. They’ve expanded wealth-channel partnerships and simplified subscriptions. The trade-off is complexity—liquidity, fees and terms look smoother, but the underlying constraints haven’t changed. – Anatoly Iofe, IceBridge Financial Group, LLC
The information provided here is not investment, tax, or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.
