Carlyle and SEI Launch First Private Markets Fund
(Bloomberg) –Carlyle Group Inc. is launching a private markets fund with SEI Investments Co. to target wealthy individuals as alternative asset managers continue pushing into the retail market.
The SEI Carlyle Private Markets Fund, the first to emerge from a partnership the firms announced in April, will invest across private equity, secondaries, private credit, real estate and collateralized loan obligations, the companies said Tuesday. It will carry a management fee of 0.75% and be available to anyone with a minimum investment of $1,000.
“This launch is an important milestone in our strategy to broaden access to institutional investment capabilities and deliver innovative solutions at scale,” Robert Hum, head of investment product and commercialization at SEI, said in an emailed statement.
Wall Street’s private markets giants have shifted much of their attention to wealthy individuals as institutional investors that traditionally backed their funds remain constrained in how much capital they can allocate to new funds.
To reach ordinary investors, and their trillions of dollars in savings, the firms have been partnering with traditional asset managers whose brands are already recognizable on Main Street. One example is a recent tie-up between Blackstone Inc., Vanguard Group and Wellington Management, which are introducing private markets funds for the masses.
It has been a rocky stretch for private credit funds, which have been hit by a deluge of redemption requests from investors. The broader private equity markets have struggled with fewer deal exits and a challenging fundraising environment.
Read More: Blackstone Debuts Funds to Bring Private Markets to Main Street
As part of its push to gather fresh cash from wealthy individuals, Carlyle recently hired two senior executives focused on family offices and tapped Bill Ryan to oversee retirement solutions.
SEI — a provider of technology, fund administration and investment services to financial firms and institutions — has sought to expand its asset management arm in the past year and introduce products that will resonate with wealth advisers.
At the end of September, SEI had roughly $1.4 trillion of assets under administration and more than $600 billion of assets under management.
Carlyle, with $478.5 billion of AUM at the end of the third quarter, will manage, sponsor and advise on its own strategies that will be in the fund. SEI will oversee portfolio construction and asset allocation and manage the vehicle. The fund may invest as much as 20% in liquid assets including stocks and bonds.
The closed-end vehicle’s ticker is PRVTX.
