When it comes to private markets, expansion is trending toward a broader investor base, supported by regulatory frameworks that enable wider distribution and new product formats.
Industry research expects private markets to become a dominant revenue driver for the asset management industry by 2030, with an expansion to retail investors part of the wider shift.
In Europe, ELTIF 2.0 remains the clearest access rail. The European Commission describes the revised ELTIF regime, applicable since January 2024, as removing hurdles and enabling ELTIFs to be marketed to investors across the EU. In light of this, product activity has continued to build.
At least 82 ELTIFs were launched in the first three quarters of 2025, compared with 55 in 2024.
Among these new ELTIFs in that period, private debt was the dominant asset class, with 36 products, ahead of private equity (16) and infrastructure (13). At the same time, at least 35 ELTIFs launched during 2025 were evergreen structures. This suggests that “private markets opening up” is not uniform across segments.
One asset class and one structure are currently doing much of the work, as managers position private debt and open-ended formats as the most scalable routes for broader distribution. For managers building new platforms, the right choice of target asset classes and fund format could determine the level of success in capturing the expected growth in assets under management.
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