SEC Approves Wider Private Market Access for Retail — SkimNews
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- SEC approved proposals Wednesday to widen retail access to private markets, expanding who qualifies as an accredited investor and allowing registered investment advisers to charge performance fees of up to 20% — a level comparable to fees historically used in the hedge fund and alternatives space
- SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said private market exposure should "not be reserved for the wealthiest or for those deemed to be the most sophisticated" and listed protecting investors from "bad actors and fraud" as a parallel priority
- Trump signed an executive order last August titled 'Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors' that allows Americans to put more retirement plan money into private equity and other alternatives
- Blue Owl Capital paused regular quarterly cash redemptions at its U.S. retail-focused Blue Owl Capital Corporation II fund in February after a surge in investor withdrawal requests amid concerns over risky software debt
- Blackstone and Apollo also received repurchase requests that exceeded their private credit funds' existing quarterly limits earlier this year
- Blackstone COO and President Jon Gray told CNBC in March that gating measures are "really a feature, not a bug" of private credit vehicles
Why it matters: Retail investors stand to gain access to private equity, private credit, and alternatives once reserved for institutions — but Blue Owl, Blackstone, and Apollo's recent gating episodes show those harder-to-sell assets can lock people out precisely when they want their money back, and the SEC's green light to 20% performance fees means advisers' pay now tracks fund profits more tightly.
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